


What's Next

by sam_writes_fics



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Co-workers, Domestic, F/M, Fluff, Idiots in Love, Post-Canon, Romance, Santos Administration, Sweet, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-30
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:33:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 30,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23399263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sam_writes_fics/pseuds/sam_writes_fics
Summary: Josh and Donna explore what life is like as Chiefs of Staff. This story starts right as "Tomorrow" ends; my attempt at their life post-canon.
Relationships: Josh Lyman & Donna Moss, Josh Lyman/Donna Moss
Comments: 39
Kudos: 158





	1. Happy is an Understatement

**Author's Note:**

> Not my characters, just love writing them.
> 
> Thanks for reading.

“Your new President of the United States of America, Matthew Santos!”

Josh Lyman stood up started clapping as hard as he could. He looked at his new boss with complete adoration. He knew President Santos had giant shoes to fill thanks to his old boss Jed Bartlet, but he was confident that the two of them could do a lot of good for this country.

Josh had happy moments before, ecstatic even, but nothing topped this moment. He was now officially the Chief of Staff to the single most powerful man in the world. A man who he pulled out of the depths of Texas and put in this position because he believed in him. That feeling alone would have easily made his top five experiences. But there was something else that was fueling his happiness as well.

He looked to his left and she was already looking at him. Standing and clapping right beside him was Donna Moss. They had gone through a whirlwind together in the last two months. From finally getting together on election day to a vacation together in Hawaii last week. He didn’t know how they got from one to the other, but he was happy with where they were now. They hadn’t talked too much about it, but it had been enough for both of them for now. They had determined that they were exclusive, and that they weren’t going to be flashy about it, but they also weren’t going to hide it anymore. 

As the crowd sat down, they were still looking at each other. They finally broke eye contact as the President began his speech and focused their gaze on him. Josh reached over and put his hand on Donna’s leg, and she took his hand in hers.

Happy was clearly an understatement.

*

“Are you ready?” Josh asked as him and Donna walked in to the White House together.

“For what?” 

“For what? For your first day as Chief of Staff to the First Lady!”

“Josh, I’ve been her Chief of Staff for three days now, a week and a half if we count me accepting the job before disappearing to Hawaii for seven days.”

“You’ve been Chief of Staff to Mrs. Santos for three days. She became the First Lady about twenty minute ago.”

Donna stopped walking.

“Are you trying to freak me out?”

“What? No, I was just—”

“That’s a really cruel thing to do Josh. Here I am starting the career of a lifetime and you’re making jokes about it. 

“I’m not making jokes! I was trying to get you excited—”

“Am I always going to be a joke to you? You need to come down off your pedestal, and if you can’t then I don’t know how we could possibly make this work.”

“Donna, I’m sorry I swear I wasn’t trying to—”

A widespread grin started to emerge on her face. She even started to laugh a little. A lightbulb turned on in Josh’s head.

“Oh, you are mean Donna Moss,” he hissed at her through his own grin he couldn’t help to hide.

“I got you good thought,” she replied as she reached out to straighten his tie, “couldn’t let you have all the fun today.”

He raised his eyebrows and waited for her to finish fixing his tie. “I have a couple meetings I have to get to this morning, but I was thinking that we could do lunch in my office if you’re free later.”

“I don’t have my full schedule for the day planned out yet, but if it fits then yeah, I would love to. Burgers from the place on the corner?”

“I was just thinking the same thing,” Josh said as he started to turn towards his office. “Call my office when you know your schedule.”

“Okay,” Donna half-heartedly replied as she was already flipping through the files her assistant just handed her.

Josh stopped walking to watch her. She looked so professional, sorting through documents and memos for the First Lady. He walked back towards her as she handed the files back to her assistant. 

Josh reached out and loosely held her hand as it hung by her side. She immediately looked around to see if anyone had seen, purely out of instinct.

“Hey,” his quiet voice seemed to draw her attention back to him, “have a great day.”

He leaned in a planted a quick kiss on her cheek before starting to walk back to his office. He looked over his shoulder and saw her blush before she put her business face back on and headed towards the East Wing.


	2. Lunch Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First day on the job, but some traditions never change. Lunch together, just like the old days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not my characters, but I sure do love writing about them.

Donna watched as the motorcade drove away from the White House. President and Doctor Bartlet were heading to New Hampshire where they would spend the rest of their days. She knew that she would see them again, probably sooner rather than later. She would fly up to see them any time they asked (and they would ask as soon as Jed realized how boring his new life would be) because she owed everything to them. If Jed had never run for President, he would have never hired Josh, who would have never hired her, and she would probably be married to some deadbeat in Wisconsin by now.

Instead, she gets to walk around her massive office in the East Wing of the White House and help the new First Lady figure out who she wants to be. Not to mention her new relationship with one of Washington’s most coveted bachelors. 

Josh. She almost forgot.

Donna picked up her day planner and her meeting notes from her first official Senior Staff meeting with Mrs. Santos. So far for staff they only had Annabeth and herself, but it was a productive meeting. The three of them set goals and discussed projects they wanted to take on in the first 100 days, and now Donna had a pretty full plate for today, and tomorrow, and… the next 98 days after that.

She made notes in her day planner of every meeting and conference call she had asked her new assistant, Judy, to schedule for her. Donna went out to Judy’s desk to confirm they had all been scheduled. She walked back into her office, sat down behind her desk, and called Josh.

“Josh Lyman’s office.” 

Donna paused for a minute. She found it bizarre and amusing that it wasn’t her saying that line anymore. She also knew exactly who that voice belonged to, which was admittedly a relief.

“Margaret, it’s Donna.” Margaret had been a friend of hers for several years now. They weren’t close enough that they would hang out on the weekends or anything, but they ate lunch together often and gossiped at each other’s desks when they needed a break. “Is Josh available right now? I just need a minute.”

“Let me check,” Donna could hear the keyboard clicks in the background, “he’s not in a meeting which is promising but let me double check.”

Margaret put her on hold. Donna didn’t mind, she knew how this worked.

“Hey,” Josh’s voice came over the phone, “what’s up?”

“I figured out my schedule for the day, and I have twenty free minutes at 1:15pm if you still want to do lunch.”

“I do, let me check with Margaret.”

Donna heard him yell for Margaret even though his hand was covering the phone. God, he sounded just like Leo.

“Yeah hang on a sec Margaret’s moving some things around for me.”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that, we can do it another time,” Donna quickly replied. She knew how important his job was. 

“Donna, it’s fine, it’s nothing that important anyways,” said Josh. “We talked about making time for each other, right? Well, I don’t know how crazy things are gonna get for either one of us in the next few weeks, so this is me making an effort to make the time now.”

Donna smiled. He was sweet. Even if it did take him four minutes to painfully say those two sentences out loud.

“Okay, Margaret moved my phone call with the Prime Minister to 1:45. I’ll have her pick up the food and you can meet me over here.”

“Actually,” Donna started, “I was thinking maybe you could come to my office. You haven’t seen it yet, and I know what yours looks like already. Or if you need to be there that’s totally fine, I can talk over there.”

“No, I wanna see it. Where is it again?”

Donna paused. “…the East Wing?”

“Yeah, Donna, I gathered that. I meant which office.”

“Oh, um I think it’s 136.”

“Okay, well keep a lookout for a man carrying food to wander somewhere near your door in case I can’t find it.”

“I’m sure you’ll be fine, see you then.” 

“Bye.”

“Bye.”

*  
There was a knock on the door just as Donna was getting off the phone.

“Miss Moss,” called out Judy.

“Judy, please, call me Donna.”

“Alright, Donna,” Judy said back with a slight head nod. “The new Chief of Staff to the President is outside, says you’re expecting him. I think his name is –”

“Josh Lyman, yeah you can send him in.”

“I thought you said you had a lunch date?”

“Yeah, it’s him.”

“Oh. Alright then, I’ll send him in.”

Donna caught herself almost blurt out to Judy that he wasn’t her date. She stopped herself and decided that Judy could think what she wanted about the nature of their relationship. Besides, they weren’t hiding anything, and whatever Judy came up with was probably true anyways.

“Oh my God,” said Josh, dumbfounded as he walked in to the office. He dropped the food on the table by the couch. “Your office is twice the size of mine.”

“Yeah,” Donna smirked, “it’s pretty great isn’t it?”

“It’s a hell of an upgrade from a cubicle,” Josh was still looking around the room at the tall ceilings and mostly empty book cases.

Donna sat on the couch and opened up the takeout bag while he was still doing laps around her desk. Josh soon followed.

They used to eat lunch together every day (unless Josh had a lunch meeting) when they were working under Bartlet. They would talk and laugh and eat, and the tradition continued once they were both working for the Santos campaign. Donna knew that the chances of them eating together every day were nonexistent with their new jobs and schedules, but today it felt just like old times.

The only difference now was when Donna caught Josh staring at her, she could smile and stare back instead of pretending she didn’t notice. 

Just as they were finishing their meal, Donna got a call at her desk. It was Helen, calling to add some things to the agenda for their afternoon meeting. Donna talked about a few points of her own and wrote it all down in her notebook.

When she turned back around, she found Josh staring at her with his mouth hanging open just a little.

“What?” she asked.

“That was… hot.”

Donna folded her arms and raised an eyebrow at him. “I was just doing my job.”

“Yeah. Still hot.” Josh walked over to where she was leaning back on the front of her desk. He had that look in his eyes that Donna exclusively knew from his bedroom.

She looked down at her watch. Shit. “Josh I gotta go, I have a meeting that starts in three minutes.” She started to reach for her folders on her desk, when he grabbed her wrist.

“You still have three minutes.” His eyes were hungry.

He moved both hands to her waist and pulled her close to him. He leaned down and kissed her. It was slow, but it was passionate; a true Josh Lyman special.

Donna moved one hand to the back of his head and tangled her fingers in his hair. She could stand right there with him all day.

But she won’t.

She reluctantly pushed him away after only a minute and started to gather her things for her meeting. “Seriously, I have to go now, I can’t be late.”

“Donna, I’m late for meetings all the time, I’m sure you can spare two more minutes.” He looked at her with wide eyes and a hopeful grin. The sight of those dimples made her almost stop in her tracks. Almost.

“Yes, but I’m not you. I don’t have the reputation of a political giant to warrant my being late to things. Besides, you don’t want me to be late for this meeting either,” she said walked out the door. She gave a small head tilt to motion to Josh to follow her.

They walked side by side down the halls of the White House like they had done so many times before. Only this time, Josh was following her asking questions and trying to keep up instead of vice versa. She loved it.

“I think I definitely want you to be late for this meeting if it means we can do that again for five more minutes,” he said with a smirk. 

He was being cocky, but he knew she would never jeopardize her career for five minutes with Josh Lyman. If she was going to do that, she would have done it eight years ago.

“Are you coming over tonight?” he asked, changing the subject.

“Do you want me to come over tonight?”

“I mean if you want to, you can, totally up to you, whatever you want.” He really hated talking about his feelings.

She looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “Let’s try that again, do you want me to come over tonight?”

“Yes.” He swallowed hard.

She smiled back at him. “I’ll be there.”

They reached Josh’s office and he stopped at the door. She kept walking.

“Where are you going?”

She stopped and turned towards him standing in his doorway confused. “To my meeting.”

Donna watched the lightbulb go off in his head. God, he was cute when he was an idiot.

“Donna,” he put his hands on his hips and shifted his weight. “Who is your meeting with?”

She flashed him a grin as she turned to walk away. She called out over her shoulder.

“The President of the United States.”


	3. Midnight Pasta

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a little bit of domestic fluff for my favorite characters. Not my characters, but I love writing them.

Josh had been reading trade agreements for what seemed like eternity. He didn’t mind it really. He would get lost in the mundane language of it all, and let his brain shut off for a while as he scanned the lines for something unusual or out of place. Only when he found something did he go back and re-read the section in depth.

There was a knock at his door. “Yeah,” he half shouted to the door without looking up. He was expecting it to be Margaret telling him that he should eat or sleep or something. She was annoyingly good at that.

“Hey stranger.”

That voice, clearly not Margaret’s, made him finally look up from his papers. It was Donna casually leaning against the door frame. She was wearing the brand new coat she bought the day after accepting the Chief of Staff position. She wanted to buy a whole new wardrobe, complaining that none of her old clothes were professional enough, but her being Donna she responsibly bought only a knock off designer coat. Josh made a mental note to buy her the real thing for her birthday.

“Hey yourself,” he responded, leaning back in his chair. “You know you can come in and sit right?”

Donna rolled her eyes and took two steps towards him. She half sat on the edge of his desk. Not what he meant exactly, but it was much better.

“You almost ready to go?” she asked as she glanced at the mountain of work on his desk. The smile started to fade from her face.

“What time is it?”

“It’s 9:30”

“Shit,” said Josh as he started rubbing his eyes. “I still have some work to do here, maybe an hour’s worth, maybe less.”

Donna raised an eyebrow at him. “Right, like you can conquer this in an hour.” She knew his workload, and even though he had a serious work ethic, that mountain of documents didn’t fool her.

Josh leaned forward and started moving things around on his desk. “This is what I have to do before I can leave,” he put two decent sized folders in one pile, “and this is what I can do at home,” he put five bigger folders in another pile.

“While that may be true, you’re gonna want to do this before you leave,” she moved probably the biggest folder to the small pile, creating two almost equal sized piles, “because I know you and I know you’d rather split it 50/50.”

Yeah, she was probably right about that.

“Look, you seem pretty swamped and I understand that you have to do this. How about I stay at my place tonight, and we can try again tomorrow night.”

Josh made a face. “What? Why would you go back to your place?”

“Because I don’t wanna sit around for a few hours waiting for you to finish. I want to take a shower and crawl under the covers and read my book until I pass out.”

That was another thing Josh had learned about Donna recently. She loved to read, anything and everything it seemed like. One day she would be reading a trashy romance novel, and the next she’d be reading a biography about the first police officer in France. He liked to think that Donna got all of her useless random facts from books. It was cute, in an almost child-like way.

“Why don’t you just do those things at my apartment?” he asked.

“Josh, I don’t want to wait around for you to go to your apartment. That was my whole point—”

“So, don’t wait for me. You still have a key right?”

She nodded.

“Go to my apartment, take a shower or whatever, and put on some of my clothes. Order delivery from wherever you want for the both of us and I’ll pay for it.”

“Josh, I—”

“Read your book and pass out in my bed before I get there, I don’t care. Just, don’t go home, ‘kay?”

Donna looked away and tilted her head to the side, thinking it over. Josh took her hand, rubbing his thumb over hers.

“Fine,” she finally answered. Josh thinks swears his heart skipped a beat. “but I’m using all your hot water.”

A huge grin spread across his face. He held her hand up to lips and kissed her knuckles gently before letting her walk away. He watched her hips sway back and forth the whole way out. 

*

Josh didn’t get home until almost midnight. He actually got through most of his work faster than he had anticipated; apparently having a gorgeous woman waiting for you at home was one hell of a motivator. 

He unlocked the door and he immediately smelled something wonderful. He couldn’t quite place it; it didn’t seem like any of his normal take out places. The smell was strong for something that was put in the fridge probably two hours ago. He dropped his bags by the door and dropped his coat on top of them.

Josh looked around the living room with no sign of Donna. He wasn’t all that surprised, he was pretty late. He walked down the hall to his bedroom. His heart sank when he didn’t see a beautiful blonde in his bed. The bathroom was empty too.

“Josh?”

He froze. Josh slowly turned around and walked back down the hall, this time to the kitchen. He found Donna.

Her hair was in a bun, but it was still damp from her shower. She was wearing his old Harvard sweatshirt with the sleeves rolled up once or twice. She was standing next to the stove, stirring something in a large pot.

That was a sight he wasn’t prepared to see. He tried to make leaning against the door frame look cool, but really, he just thought his legs were going to give out.

“What are you doing?”

She looked up at him. “Cooking.” 

“Why?”

She shrugged, “because I wanted to.”

“How? I have no food.”

“I made it work.”

Josh moved behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. He kissed her shoulder before resting his chin on it. He closed his eyes and let out a deep breath as he relaxed his shoulders. “Smells good.”

“Midnight pasta,” she said as if that made any sense to him at all. She moved out of his embrace to get two plates from the cupboard. “My brothers used to make it for us in high school after football games on Friday nights. It would be about midnight before we got home, so that’s where the name came from. Of course, back then it was just plain pasta with butter. Once they graduated, I continued the tradition with my little sister, and then I carried it with me to college. I’d make it for me and my roommates after parties, and over that time I altered and perfected the recipe. It wasn’t until after the first Bartlet campaign that I realized it wasn’t really my drunk snack anymore; it was my own little comfort food from home.”

Donna handed him a plate, and he followed her to the couch.

“You know you didn’t have to do this right?” he asked with a knot forming in his stomach. “I didn’t mean… earlier when I said come over… I wasn’t expecting—”

“Josh, shut up and eat your pasta.”

He did as he was told and took a bite. Shit.

“Oh my god,” he exclaimed through a mouthful of food. He closed his eyes and rested his head against the back of the couch. It was exactly what his soul needed right now.

“That’s why I did it,” Donna said with a smile on her face. “Good for the soul.”

They ate the rest of their meal in comfortable silence. Josh was focused on the food. It wasn’t complex, it was really just noodles, some spices, and some melted cheese, but it was heavenly. He couldn’t remember the last time he had a home cooked meal. It was probably before the campaign.

*

When Josh finished doing the dishes, he found that Donna had moved from the living room to his bedroom. She was curled up in his bed reading a book that looked familiar. He thought maybe she grabbed it off his bookshelf. 

Josh went in to the bathroom and brushed his teeth. He hadn’t realized just how tired he was until now. He stripped down to just his boxers and left his clothes on the floor, too tired to pick them up. He found his way to his bed and collapsed face down next to Donna. He lied there motionless for a few moments before he heard her.

“Josh?”

“Mmm.”

“What are you doing?”

“Sleeping.”

He heard her shut the bedside lamp off and place the book on the table. He felt the blankets being pulled over him. Josh opened his eyes and saw her propped up on her elbow staring at him.

“Josh, why did you want me to come over tonight?”

“What does that even mean?”

“It means that if you were just planning on going home and going to bed, why did you want me to be here?”

Josh knew what she was implying. Most times—okay every time Donna had come over, they ended up having sex. They couldn’t help it, they were good at it. In Texas and in Hawaii, they had a lot of incredible sex. That’s what vacations (and elections) are for right? Donna had only been over less than a handful of times since they got back a week ago, and every time it ended the same way. Josh hadn’t thought anything of it until now.

“Donna,” he said in a hazy voice as he picked his head up off the pillow, “you know I didn’t ask you to come over just for sex, right?”

Donna was quiet for a minute.

“Donna?”

“Yeah?”

“You know that, right?”

Donna reached out and started rubbing his back. “Yeah, I know that.”

Josh let out a slight moan as she continues kneading his back. His whole back felt tense from the long day and sore from old injuries (mostly one injury involving a gunshot wound). Her hands felt so good on him, he was actually relaxing.

“Josh?” It came out as barely a whisper.

“Mmm.”

“Why did you want me to come over tonight?”

“Because,” he half sat up and leaned his shoulder against the headboard, “I sleep better when you’re here.”

He reached his hand out and cupped her face, gently nudging her to lean towards him. He kissed her slowly and sleepily. He felt her smile against his lips.

Josh laid back down on his stomach and stared up at the woman he loves in his bed. 

“I love you,” the words came out of his mouth before he even realized he said it. It wasn’t the first time he said it to her, that was in Hawaii, but he couldn’t remember saying it since their trip. He made a mental note to try to say it more often. He had no trouble thinking those words over in his head a thousand times a day, but when it came to say it out loud, he always found himself faltering. Maybe he was getting better at articulating his feelings.

“I love you too.”

Donna went back to massaging his back and Josh felt pure bliss. He fell asleep almost instantly.

*

Josh woke up around 3am. He always woke up around this time, and usually couldn’t go back to sleep. He would get up and put on some coffee and start his work for the day. 

This time felt different.

Josh rolled over to see a bare back and golden locks on the other side of the bed. He moved behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him. They fit like puzzle pieces together.

Josh swears he saw the slightest smile creep on to Donna’s face in her sleep. He kissed her cheek and nuzzled his face in to the back of her neck. Snuggled up to his woman, Josh fell back asleep until his alarm went off two hours later.


	4. Nothing New

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Donna is invited to dinner with Mrs. Santos, and pours her heart out.

The day started out like any other. Donna woke up confused at first because she wasn’t in her apartment. All she had to do was roll over and get one good look at Josh sleeping with his mouth wide open to remember where she was. 

She smiled at the sight of him. Peaceful was not a word she would normally use to describe Josh, but when he was sleeping it was all she could think of.

It had only been about two weeks since President Santos took office, but Donna already had a morning routine for waking up at Josh’s. Well, technically she had two morning routines. The first usually consisted of Donna having to go back to her apartment early in the morning for a change of clothes, while Josh did everything in his half-asleep power to convince her to stay in bed. He usually lost.

The second routine was much more enjoyable for the both of them, and they ran through the motions that morning. Donna left the office before Josh the night before, so she went home and grabbed some toiletries and clean clothes for the morning. That way, she didn’t have to rush across town to her place before heading in to work in the morning.

Donna woke up first almost every day. She got up, started the coffee, and then got in the shower. After her shower she would wake Josh up just before his alarm went off.

The sight of her, in his bed, in nothing but a towel was usually more than enough to wake him up.

Josh would shower, Donna would get dressed and make breakfast (if they didn’t stay in bed until they were both almost late), and then they would read the morning papers. 

At first Donna thought it would be weird, the two of them living an extremely domestic life outside of the chaotic energy of the White House. She was happy that she was wrong; it was comforting for the both of them. Josh seemed less anxious when she was there. Donna found that he always liked to be touching her. Whether it was their legs gently resting against each other under the table while they ate breakfast, their hands loosely intertwined while they read the papers, or his arms around her waist while she poured them coffee; he always seemed more relax when she was there to keep him grounded.

Donna was spending more days than not at Josh’s apartment. When she wasn’t there she was staying at CJ’s apartment. CJ left for her new job in California as soon as Bartlet left office, but her lease wasn’t up for another month. She told Donna she could stay there until the lease ended since the girl from treasury was still in Donna’s apartment. Donna still had about three weeks until she had to leave, but it wasn’t a big concern for her. Right now, she was enjoying not being at CJ’s or her apartment that often. She enjoyed waking up next to Josh most mornings, and she was going to milk that for as long as she could.

The day started out like any other day. They drove to work together as they listened to the morning radio shows. They mocked the Republicans and debated the priorities of the moveable Democrats. Their banter was back and in full swing. It was like they had been doing this their whole lives and had no intention of stopping.

Donna was in high spirits as she led her senior staff meeting that morning. When she was in a good mood, it reflected in the people she worked with. Even Mrs. Santos seemed chipper than usual that morning. 

After the meeting, Donna hung back to talk to Mrs. Santos about her schedule for the day. Mrs. Santos, however, had a different idea of what to talk about.

“Donna,” she started, “what are you doing tonight?”

“I’m sorry?”

“It’s Friday, got any big plans tonight?”

“Other than working until 11 and then eating ice cream on my couch until I fall asleep? No.”

“Donna, you’re young and beautiful. You’re telling me that you don’t have a date with some young hot shot lawyer who will buy you dinner and take you dancing?”

Donna thought about her not-so-young hot shot lawyer turned politician that would be waiting for her at home. He would likely buy her take out at an ungodly hour and steal her ice cream after. However, there would be no dancing, unless you count the horizontal tango. 

“What can I say, I’m dedicated to my craft.”

Helen laughed at that one.

“Why don’t we have dinner and drinks tonight in the residence? It’s been far too long since I’ve had a real conversation outside of work that wasn’t with my husband or my kids. I think we could both use a night with friends.”

Donna smiled at that. She always liked Helen on the campaign trail. She was a dedicated wife and mother who stood up for what she believed in. Donna and Helen actually had quite a few nights on the campaign where they would stay up talking or having a glass of wine while they waited for Matt, Josh, Lou, and whoever else was still up to finish going over schedules and polling data. They had developed a friendship which led to a great professional relationship between them once the President took office. Donna liked to think of their relationship similar to that of Leo and Jed.

“That sounds wonderful, I would love to.”

“Great. I’m going to be heading over around 7 if you’d like to walk with me.”

“I’ll meet you in your office at 7 then.”

Helen smiled as Donna got up to leave. Donna thought she saw the tiniest hint of a smirk as she left the office.

Donna called Josh to tell him that she was having dinner with a friend tonight, and he shouldn’t wait up. 

*

At 7pm on the nose, Donna walked in to Helen’s office to find the First Lady already putting her coat on. The two of them talked briefly about next week’s public appearances before they both agreed to leave work at the office for the night. They stopped by Donna’s office briefly for her to drop off the small stack of work-related memos and papers she was carrying (at the order of the First Lady), and then they set off down the hall.

Donna had never walked to the residence from the East Wing before. She had walked from the West Wing with Josh, with CJ, and even with President Bartlet himself before. This walk was new to her, and she familiarized herself with it as they went. It was much more peaceful than the walk from the West Wing. It had less Secret Service Agents and more flowers. Donna thought it was beautiful.

As they reached the residence, Donna habitually held up her ID card to show the Agent outside the door. He briefly looked at it out of respect, and she dropped the card back to her side. She often forgot that now that she was Chief of Staff, every Agent had her name and face at the top of their lists. They all knew who she was, but she couldn’t seem to break the habit she formed as a third-tier assistant not so long ago.

Donna and Helen were chatting and giggling like they were on the road again by the time they reached the main living room. They didn’t even notice at first the two men sitting on the couches as they passed through the main doors. Then they looked up.

Donna’s jaw dropped slightly as she saw Josh Lyman and President Santos sitting in front of her.

*

Earlier that day…

Helen Santos was a determined woman.

When she wanted to know something, she had manipulation skills that rivaled Josh Lyman’s, though hers were much more subtle and harmless.

She thought nothing of it when her future Chief of Staff accepted the job but said she couldn’t start until the following week. Imagine her intrigue when she found out her husband’s Chief of Staff asked for the exact same week off.

Helen was a smart woman, but you didn’t have to be to tell that something was going on between Donna and Josh during the campaign. She watched them go back and forth at rallies, and debate until they were blue in the face after hours.

Helen tried to have a conversation with Donna about it two weeks before election day. Donna didn’t give her much at the time. She had a far off look in her eye as she gave some mumblings about it being too much history between them and how their moment had passed long ago.

Helen didn’t buy it.

She was the first to notice a shift in their relationship on Election Day. In the late hours of the night, every time good news was brought their way, she watched as they both immediately looked for each other and stood in an embrace as if their life depended on it.

She even caught Josh crying in Donna’s arms, standing in Leo McGarry’s hotel room the day he died. Neither of them knew that she saw.

When the emotional high of the election and the funeral wore off, Helen was curious to see what would happen with them. She found her answer when she overheard Sam Seaborn say “his postcard says they’re having a blast in Hawaii.” Emphasis on they.

Helen saw about a thousand other things over the next few weeks that tipped her off about their relationship, but she never brought it up again to Donna. She wanted to give them their space and let them figure it out on their own. Young love, and all that.

It wasn’t until lunchtime that Friday that she realized her opportunity.

She was having lunch with her husband when she asked him if Josh was seeing anybody. His response was “God I hope so”.

“I think it’s Donna,” Helen casually said between bites of her sandwich.

The President almost choked. “Seriously?”

“Are you blind?” she asked back. “Honey, they have lunch together four times a week, they show up together most mornings, and neither of them has much of a social life outside of their jobs.”

Matt laughed and shook his head. “Donna, really? You don’t think she’s a little out of his league?”

“Oh I know she is,” Helen laughed back, “but I also see the way he looks at her. He’s got the word “smitten” all over his face.”

Matt still didn’t buy it. “I’ll bet you ten bucks it’s not Donna.”

Helen loved a challenge. “You’re on. I invited her over for dinner tonight. Why don’t you invite Josh and we can see for ourselves.”

“Deal,” Matt replied

Helen was already thinking of what she would spend the money on.

*

Helen walked with Donna to the residence later that night. They talked like they were old friends as they left work behind. She had almost forgotten about her secret plan when they walked through the living room doors. Almost.

When Donna’s eyes landed on Josh and her jaw dropped, Helen couldn’t help but immediately start laughing.

“Oh my God,” said her husband, staring at her in disbelief, “you were right.”

*

Josh looked around at the three of them hopelessly confused. Luckily, his cell phone rang, and he excused himself to the next room. Saved by the bell.

Donna felt her face turn red and looked over at Helen, who couldn’t stop giggling. Did she just out them in front of the President?

Josh entered the room and swiftly collected his jacket, “Mr. President you’re needed in the Situation room right now. It shouldn’t take long.”

“Don’t start dinner without me,” Matt called over his shoulder as Josh practically dragged him out of the room. 

Helen walked to the kitchen as Donna took a seat on the couch. She still couldn’t find the right words when Helen returned with two glasses of white wine.

“So,” the First Lady started as she sat across from Donna, “Josh Lyman huh?”

Donna’s first instinct was to lie, but she knew that wouldn’t get her anywhere. Her face was like an open book right now. “How did you know?”

“I’m a very observant woman, Donna,” Helen replied as she took a sip of her wine. “That, and he makes giant heart eyes at you when you’re not looking.”

“Right.”

They both burst into laughter over that. Donna felt her shoulders relax as she started to feel like she was talking to an old friend instead of her boss.

“When did you figure it out?”

“Election Day. When did it start?”

“Election Day.”

“Campaign fling?”

“No,” Donna said slowly. She didn’t even know how to begin to explain their history to someone who jumped in at the tail end. If this was Sam or CJ or even Toby, they would just understand. Donna paused for a moment to try to find the words.

“The thing you have to understand about Josh and me is that this is not a new thing. This is an unspoken love that’s lasted almost a decade. It wasn’t always romantic, and it was almost always forbidden, but it was there. We were each other’s best friend for so long, and we toed that line between friends and more than friends more than once. We never crossed it, but we came close. We had built up this thing between us to be so big that once I left the White House, it was like we left each other.”

Helen was listening with such intent. Donna felt like she could pour her soul out to this woman and she would understand.

“After the shooting, and the bombing, and everything in between, it was too much for us. Once we were both working for the Santos campaign, we had to find each other again, buried under the mountain of history and lost emotions. It took us a while, but we finally pushed through to the other side. It’s like things finally clicked in to place for us.”

Helen had a confused look on her face. Donna was worried she went too far.

“I’m sorry, did you say shooting and bombing?”

Donna gave a soft smile back. She forgot just how new Helen was to her life.

“Do you remember hearing about Rosslyn? When President Bartlet was shot?”

Helen nodded.

“I showed up to the hospital after hearing about it on the news, and I remember being so happy when I heard the President was going to be okay. Half a second later, Toby Ziegler is telling me that Josh was shot in the chest and he was in emergency surgery. I almost fainted. I sat in that waiting room for fifteen hours holding my breath. When they finally told us that Josh made it through surgery, I practically ran to his room. I sat by his bed for three days. That’s when I first knew I loved him. Not quite romantic love, but an honest I-can’t-live-without-you type of love.”

“I had no idea,” Helen said after a few moments.

“No one did. Actually, everyone did, except for me and Josh. He got better and we carried on with our work under President Bartlet. It wasn’t until Gaza that things changed between us.”

Helen knew what happened to Donna in Gaza. She read her file before hiring her, and there was a fourteen-page document detailing what happened. It contained records of her physical therapy, her emotional therapy, and her hospital stay. Helen thought she knew everything there was to know about that incident. She was wrong.

“I don’t remember anything between the car flying through the air and waking up in the hospital. The first thing I remember is Josh standing over my hospital bed looking at me like if he stared too hard, I would break. The next day I had emergency surgery when they found a blood clot, and when I woke up and didn’t see him, I started to panic. I told myself that it was because I was scared of being alone in that hospital, but really, I was just scared that he left me. He didn’t though. He was sitting right next to my head, just out of my initial view. Every time I woke up, I was scared. He held my hand, he wiped my tears, and he stroked my hair until I fell asleep for three days. He only left after I convinced him they needed him back here to help negotiate the peace deals.”

Donna took a long sip of her wine while Helen processes all of this. She had no idea just how much history there was between the two of them.

“After I came back, things were different. We had both shown our hands. It was hard to walk around this place, working together with this tension between us. We couldn’t go back to being best friends without admitting the rest of how we felt. I knew Josh, and I knew it was only a matter of time before he did something stupid that would cost him his career. So, I left. I thought it was the right thing to do, but somehow it just created this anger between us. It wasn’t until I was working on the Santos campaign that it felt like we had a fresh start. We started bantering like we used, and it finally felt like we were friends again. Then, Election Day came along, and we leapt so far over the line we couldn’t see it anymore. That’s what I mean when I say this isn’t a new thing between us. Our relationship is new, but our feelings aren’t. It’s like buying a new house, but instantly feeling at home. It’s complicated, but it’s us.”

Helen was quiet for a minute. Donna sat there, exhausted from talking so much, but she had to admit she felt a thousand times better. She was happy she wouldn’t have to hide this part of her life anymore. If the two most powerful people in the world knew, the rest of the country would be a piece of cake, right?

Slowly, a huge grin spread across Helen’s face. Donna gave her a puzzled look.

“I bet my husband ten bucks that you guys were together.”

Donna let out a loud laugh, that spread to Helen. They laughed and laughed together. Helen took her turn and told Donna about how she met Matt. They went back and forth laughing about how they were with the two most powerful men in the world, who also happened to be complete idiots.

*

Josh walked with the President back towards the residence after handling the events in the Situation Room. It was minor, and it was over in about an hour. Josh forgot all about Donna and dinner until the President spoke up.

“Are you and Donna together?” Matt Santos asked so nonchalantly.

“What?” Josh nearly stopped in his tracks.

“You and Donna, are you guys together?”

Josh swallowed hard. He wanted to say, “She’s the love of my life, sir.” What he really said was, “Yes.”

The President thought about it for a minute. Josh was suddenly nervous for his response.

“You know you got lucky right?”

“Sir?”

“Josh, she’s so far out of your league she’s in a whole different ball park.”

“Don’t I know it, sir.”

They stopped right before the residence. Matt turned and looked at Josh with a serious expression on his face.

“Josh, are you serious about this? Donna is a bright girl, and you’re getting too old to be playing games with women anymore.” His eyes searched Josh’s face for a reaction.

“It’s not like that Mr. President,” Josh stuttered while looking down at his feet. He took a deep breath and looked Matt straight in the eye. “Donna feels like home.” It wasn’t the most eloquent thing he’s ever said, but it was definitely the closest he’s ever come to talking about his feelings out loud. He tried to find better words to follow with. “I’ve loved Donna for a long time, sir, and now I’m finally home.” 

Matt saw the sincerity in his eyes, and a wide grin spread across his face. “You better hold on to this one, Josh, or you’re really screwed.”

“I don’t plan on letting go, sir.”

*

Once the men returned to the residence, the four of them ate dinner together. They laughed and shared stories for hours into the night. It was the more relaxed and normal any of them had felt in the past few months. 

Helen loved having conversations with adults outside of work. Matt was always happy when everyone around him was happy. Donna laughed harder and felt more relaxed than she had in her entire life that night. Josh was just happy he could sit with his arm around his woman, or holding her hand in his lap.

When the end of the night came, they agreed to make it a regular endeavor. Once a month the four of them would have dinner together, and they would eat and drink and laugh until the late hours of the night. 

Josh and Donna left with the biggest smiles on their faces. They were both feeling the same thing. If they could make it through their bosses finding out about them, they could make it through the rest of the world finding out. All they knew was that they were going home happy, and together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had the idea for this chapter stuck in my head for a while now, so I had to write it. Next chapter, it's back to cute moments between our main couple.


	5. Valentine's Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josh and Donna share their first Valentine's Day as a couple.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has left positive comments so far! You guys really keep me going. Sorry it's taken a while to get this chapter out, I'm finishing my last few weeks of my senior year of college right now so things are a bit crazy! I'm gonna try to keep posting 1-2 chapters a week for now. I have so many more ideas for chapters, so I'm really trying to stay motivated so that I can give you guys all of my fic ideas!

Josh always secretly liked Valentine’s Day.

Anyone who knew him would say the opposite. Josh didn’t seem to dislike Valentine’s Day, but he never enjoyed it. He would always continue working like it was any other day while everyone else left the office by 5 to get home to their loved ones. Some would say it was because he was a cynical old man, but others would say it was just because he never had anyone to share it with.

Until now.

Josh woke up that Friday morning to an empty bed. He thought it was ironic that the first year he had someone to share Valentine’s Day with, she was nowhere to be found. It took him a minute to remember that Donna went out for drinks with Annabeth the night before, and she told him she was going home after. Donna was at Josh’s every night for the past week, and apparently, she didn’t have any clean suits in his apartment. 

Josh rolled out of bed and wandered to the kitchen to turn on the coffee pot when something caught his eye.

In the middle of the coffee table was a small box wrapped in a red bow. Next to it was a card with his name on it with explicit instructions not to open it until Valentine’s Day. He thought that Donna must have put it there yesterday sometime before she went out. Josh got in so late the night before that apparently, he walked right past it without noticing. 

Note to self: stop doing that.

He sat down with his coffee and opened the card first.

Josh,

Happy first Valentine’s Day. I hope you like it. 

Love,  
Donna

Josh put down the card and picked up the present. He untied the ribbon and lifted the lid of the giftbox. Inside was a brand-new silver watch. It was elegant and powerful, beautiful and masculine; it was the most stunning thing he had ever seen. It was from an expensive brand, and he knew Donna probably spent a few paychecks on this thing, but Josh didn’t care about any of those things.

Josh’s current watch stopped working three days ago. He hadn’t even told Donna about it, yet somehow, she knew exactly what he needed. She was good at that, anticipating his needs without him having to tell her. That was why he loved his new watch.

Josh finished his coffee and took a shower. He put on a navy pin stripe suit with a fresh white button down underneath. He took his time picking out the right tie and getting his hair to look almost normal. Josh wanted to look good today, and not just because of his fancy new watch. He had plans for this Valentine’s Day, plans that the President knew about and promised his best not to need him after 6pm.

Josh slipped on his new watch, and with one final look at himself in the mirror, he headed to the White House.

*

Josh got to the White House around his usual time that morning. He checked in with Margaret, made some last-minute adjustments to the President’s schedule, and then sat down to read the the stack of new memos that appear on his desk every morning. You’d think that on nights when he only goes home for 5 hours the stack would be small, but then you’d be very wrong.

After the memos, he had senior staff with his team. They briefed him on what they were working on and he tried to steer them in the right directions. He delegated some more tasks to his staffers, and then ended the meeting early. Josh was afraid that his team would say something because ending the meeting early was not something he did often. They ignored it, and Josh got to slip out of his office for a few minutes.

He looked at his new watch and it read 8:29am. Perfect timing.

Josh reached the now familiar part of the East Wing three minutes later. He waved hello to Judy and held a finger up to his lips to indicate that he didn’t want his presence announced. Judy smiled and nodded. 

He didn’t know Judy when the Santos’s took office. He knew she worked in the White House during both of Bartlet’s terms, so he had a respect for her. Over the few weeks she had started working for Donna, Josh liked to think that he and Judy had become fast acquaintances with his frequent visits to her boss’s office. He liked Judy, and he thought she liked him too.

Josh walked up to the open door to Donna’s office and leaned against the door frame. He waited as Donna finished reading the card attached to the large bouquet of flowers that was just delivered to her desk. 

“Good, they came right on time,” Josh said as he made note to look at the new piece on his wrist. He looked back up at Donna, who was now standing on the other side of her desk looking at him with a wide smile on her face. He crossed the room and took her hand as he leaned in and gently kissed her. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

“Happy Valentine’s Day,” Donna replied as she reached up to touch his jaw with her other hand as she kissed him back. “These flowers are absolutely beautiful.”

It was a large bouquet of roses that Josh picked out himself. It was filled with pink roses in three different shades with a few white roses to break up the colors. He went to a florist two weeks ago and spent the better part of an hour trying to figure out what to do. Then he called Sam.

“I’m glad you like them.”

“I love them,” Donna replied as she wrapper her arms around his neck. 

Josh held her around her waist and closed his eyes as he buried his face in her shoulder. He felt relaxed there; it was his favorite place to be. 

“This is the best Valentine’s Day gift anyone has ever given me.”

Josh’s eyes snapped open and he pushed her back so he could look at her face. She had this innocent grin on her face that usually made Josh go weak at the knees. He knew he was making a confused face at her when her face started to mimic his.

“What did you just say?”

“That these flowers are the best—”

“This is the best Valentine’s Day present you’ve ever received?”

“Yeah, I—”

“Donna this isn’t even your real present, these are just flowers.”

Now Donna looked confused.

Josh always forgot how guys would underappreciate Donna. He never understood it. Here she was, a beautiful, intellectual, witty, kind, and loving human being. Josh knew that if he searched the entire planet, he would never find another Donna as long as he lived. He couldn’t understand how the men of her past never saw her that way. He always thought that’s why they never worked out, and he was eternally grateful for that.

Josh had to take a few seconds before he started talking again. Thinking of her ex’s always made him mad; and not in that jealous boyfriend type of mad, but in the how idiotic did they have to be to let her go.

Donna spoke first. “So, there’s another present?” Her eyes perked up.

Josh laughed at that. “There might be,” he said as he wrapped his arms around her waist again, “if you’re nice to me.”

“Well that’s gonna be tough.”

“Why?”

Donna leaned in and whispered in his ear, “because I plan on doing very naughty things to you later.”

Josh’s eyes widened and he felt his pants get a little tighter. Donna pulled away and gave him a devilish grin as she walked around to the other side of her desk and sat down in her chair.

Josh regained consciousness after a few seconds and sat down across from her in a visitor chair.

“I see you got my present.”

“Yeah,” Josh replied as he admired his new watch. He held his wrist up in front of him, “how does it look on me?”

“It looks very nice with your very fancy and serious outfit complementing it.”

Josh pulled at the lapels of his suit jacket and couldn’t help but smile. She noticed.

“I love it, I can’t stop looking at it.”

“Good thing watches are meant to be looked at.”

“Oh yeah,” Josh stopped looking at his watch for a minute when he remembered, “how did you know I even needed a new watch?”

“I didn’t. Not at first anyways. I saw this watch two months ago when I went downtown one night with CJ and I thought that it was very… you.”

Josh loved watching Donna talk, especially when it was about him. He rested his elbow on the arm of the chair and held his chin in his palm, hanging on her every word.

“I didn’t get it at first. It was after Christmas, and I didn’t even know if you wanted a new watch. But then, three days ago you showed up to our lunch date twenty minutes late and I put two and two together. I knew if I said anything about it that would just remind you to buy yourself a new watch, so instead I went back to the store where I first saw this watch and bought it.”

Josh loved how she could read him like a book. He thought it was endearing, and it really was a testament to just how long they’ve loved each other.

“Well, I really do love it,” Josh replied with a smile. Donna smiled back.

He took another look at his watch and noticed the time. “Damn,” he said, “I’m late for a thing with a guy.” Josh stood up and leaned over Donna’s desk to kiss her quickly before he headed to the door. He turned around as he reached the doorway, “you’re coming over tonight right?”

“Do you want me to come over tonight?”

“More than anything.”

He winked at her and turned out the door. Josh Lyman walked around all day with the biggest love-sick grin on his face all day, and every single person gave him shit for it.

*

“So, what do you have planned for tonight?” 

Sam Seaborn walked in to Josh’s office with their lunch in hand. They rarely had lunch together anymore; Josh usually ate with Donna (when he had time for lunch) and Sam usually spent his lunch break at the gym. Today, Margaret pointed out to Josh that he and Sam both had a free half hour at 1, and so the lunch was planned. 

Note to self: appreciate Margaret more. 

“What makes you think I have a plan?”

“Because you’re you.”

“What have I ever done that leads you to believe that I am a guy who makes plans?”

“Absolutely nothing. But you’re you and she’s Donna, so all previous assumptions go out the window.”

Josh couldn’t help but smile at that. “You first,” he said through a mouthful of food, “where are you taking your woman tonight?”

“I got us tickets to the symphony at the Kennedy Center, which we will be attending after dinner at this little French restaurant downtown. It’s not crazy fancy, but it reminds me of where we had our first date in California.”

“Sounds like she’s gonna like it.”

“Thanks, I hope so. Okay, your turn.”

“Well, we’re not going anywhere. I’m turning my apartment into the perfect place for a romantic evening for two. I’m not gonna tell you all of my plans because I’m afraid I’ll jinx it, but I’ll give you a few details. First off, I’m making us chicken parm and ravioli for dinner.”

Sam almost choked on his food from laughing. “Josh, I hate to break it to you, but you don’t know how to cook.”

“I watched a thing on tv, it’ll be a snap.”

Sam looked at him seriously. “Josh, have you ever cooked anything before?”

“Yeah,” Josh replied not making eye contact, “two weeks ago Donna was in Michigan with the First Lady for some statue dedication and I tried making it then.”

“And how did it go?”

“Horrible. That’s why I’m picking up food from Mario’s on my way home.” Josh couldn’t help but smile at Sam who smiled back. He really did know Josh all too well.

“What else?”

“Well, I sent flowers to her office this morning, and I’m having more delivered to the apartment later.”

“What else?”

“Sam, trust me when I say that I have much more planned, but I really think that saying it out loud will tempt the universe to destroy all of it.”

“You better have more planned,” Sam replied with a look on his face that Josh couldn’t quite place.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I don’t think I have to tell you that this is the girl Josh. Donna is bright, and kind, and can read you like an open book. I just want to make sure that you don’t, you know…”

“Screw this one up?”

“Well, I was gonna say it nicer, but yeah.”

Josh wanted to say that he had no intention of ever letting her go; that she was easily the best thing that ever happened to him. He wanted to say that he loved her too much to ever be able to live without her. He didn’t say any of that.

“I won’t. I promise.”

Not what he intended, but still got his point across.

“Good,” Sam said as the usual smile returned to his face. “Do you need help with anything?”

“Nah, I’ve got it covered, but thanks.”

They sat there with soft smiles on their faces for a moment before returning to their usual conversation topics of war in the middle east and the budget deficit.

*

Josh was nervous.

Josh didn’t get nervous. He had the confidence of two men, and the brains and charisma to back it up. He couldn’t even remember the last time he got nervous. The only thing that came close was the rare PTSD flare up, but that was more of an anxiety attack than nerves.

Donna told him she would be over around 8. It was 8:30.

Josh was pacing up and down the hallway. He had everything ready by 7:45 because he knew how punctual Donna (usually) was. It had been 45 minutes of overthinking and second guessing himself. 

He changed his clothes three times, and finally settled on jeans and a black sweater. He was going to stick with his nice suit, but Donna always liked seeing him in normal clothes. She said it was like a breath of fresh air.

Just when he was about to call her, his apartment door opened.

“Hey, sorry I’m late I—”

Donna froze in the doorway. Josh watched as she looked around the room in silence. He looked around too, admiring his work.

The apartment never looked so good. There were candles all around the living room and the kitchen, with even more in his bedroom. Small bouquets of pink and white roses, the same kind that he sent Donna that morning, stood in every place there wasn’t a candle. Rose petals of the same color led down the hall into the bedroom, leading up to even more flowers on his bed.

Donna stood there looking at everything for what seemed like forever. Finally, she met Josh’s eyes, and he felt a grin spread across his face.

“Happy Valentine’s Day.”

Donna just stood there starting at him. Josh was suddenly nervous again. He could feel the smile fade from his face as he started walking towards her.

“Is it too much? ‘Cause I can get rid of—”

“You did all of this for me?”

“Well… yeah.” Josh looked at her confused, who else would he do this for? “If you don’t like it I can—”

“Shut up.”

“What?”

“Just shut up.”

Donna reached out and wrapper her arms around Josh’s neck, pulling him closer and kissing him. Josh moved his hands to hold her around her lower back. The kiss deepened and they both tightened their grip on the other, as if they never wanted to let go.

After a minute of kissing, Josh could taste something salty. He pulled back, breaking the kiss, and saw tears running down Donna’s cheeks. He moved one of his hands up to wipe away the tears.

“Donna, if you don’t like the flowers—”

“I love the flowers.”

“Then, what’s wrong?”

Donna kept staring at his eyes, shaking her head a little bit. “I can’t believe you did all of this for me.”

“Why?”

“Because, Josh, I’ve seen you in relationships before. You’ve never been the grand gesture kind of guy, not unless you were trying to get out of the dog house. It just doesn’t make sense why you would do all of this,” she replied as she waved her arm at everything in the room.

“Donna,” Josh sighed, “did it ever occur to you that I’ve never done this before because I’ve never felt this way before? I’ve never been in love with anyone else, not the way I’m in love with you.”

Josh had to restrain from high fiving himself over the longest coherent sentence about his feelings he’s ever said to another human being.

“I feel like…” Donna started, “I feel like I’m living in a dream. Like, any second now someone is gonna wake me up and I’ll be sitting in a Santos campaign bus somewhere between Texas and Oklahoma.”

“Yeah, I know the feeling.”

Donna smiled in response, and Josh swears his heart actually skipped a beat. He gives her one more kiss before unraveling his arms from her. He takes her hand in his and leads her to the kitchen. 

“Come on, dinner’s almost ready.”

*

After a wonderful dinner filled with good food and even better conversation, Josh and Donna sat on his couch each with a drink in hand. They were both sitting sideways, staring lovingly in to each other’s eyes as they finished their conversation from dinner. Josh could feel the goofy grin that hadn’t left his face since they started eating, but he couldn’t help himself when he was looking at Donna.

“Josh, this really has been the best Valentine’s Day I’ve ever had. The flowers, the candles, and the dinner, it really was the most thoughtful present I’ve ever received.”

Josh rolled his eyes.

“Donna, this still isn’t your real present.”

Donna looked at him confused.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean I haven’t given you your real present yet.”

Donna stared at him as she took a long sip from her glass. Josh casually reached under the couch and pulled out two giftwrapped boxes. He traded Donna her glass for the first box and watched as she carefully undid the bow and the wrapping paper. Under the paper revealed a box, and as she lifted the lid, Josh watched as her eyes went wide and her hand flew to cover her mouth. He was waiting for that to happen.

In her hand, Donna was holding diamond earrings. They were in the same tear shape that almost all of her other jewelry was. The only difference was that these earrings were real diamonds, and almost everything else she owned was made of fake or cheap gem stones.

“Josh…” She didn’t know what else to say.

“Do you like them?”

“I love them, but…” she trailed off, still staring at the gorgeous contents of the box.

Josh reached out and lifted her chin, so she was forced to make eye contact with him.

“But what?”

“They’re just so… expensive.”

Josh laughed. He actually laughed at that. 

“Donna, for once in your life can you not think about money for like five seconds?”

She smiled back at him, but she shook her head as she did it.

“Josh, I can’t—”

“No, Donna, you can. Just let me show you what you mean to me. Okay? Because we both know I’m not so good with the words.”

She reached out and held his face in her hand. They both leaned in and their lips met. Donna reached her hand back and tangled her fingers in his hair. Josh loved the way she played with his hair. It was gentle yet demanding at the same time. He reached out and placed his hand on the side of her ribs, slowly moving it down until he reached her hip. He loved the feel of her body under his hands. He could get lost for hours just running his hands over her body. All he wanted to do was hold her in his hands every day…

“Wait,” Josh said as he pulled back abruptly.

“What?”

“You still haven’t opened your real present.”

Josh handed the second box to Donna and she looked up at him tentatively.

“Josh, you’ve done too much already I can’t—”

“Just open it.”

“Josh—”

“Trust me, you’re gonna want to open it.”

Donna gave him a quizzical look, and Josh felt a knot forming in his stomach. He had no problem with spending tons of money on roses and diamonds and anything else Donna could possibly want. But for some reason, when he had to deal with something that actually mattered to him, he felt like he a ten-year-old boy who was afraid of public speaking.

He swallowed hard as Donna opened the second box. She raised an eyebrow as she looked up at him, clearly confused.

“It’s a key?”

“Yeah.”

“A key to where?”

“Here.”

“The apartment?”

“Yeah.”

“Josh, I already have a key to your apartment.”

“I know.”

“Why would I need two keys?”

Josh opened his mouth to speak but quickly closed it again. He couldn’t find the right words. He sat there for another moment hoping she would understand, but it was too cryptic of a message. Josh stood up and held out his hand to help Donna off the couch. He turned and led her down the hall and in to his bedroom. 

“Josh, I’m still confused about the key here.”

“Just wait a minute.”

Josh slid open his closet door and gestured to the inside. It was emptier than usual. Donna still wasn’t getting it. For a bright girl, sometimes she was really dumb.

He rolled his eyes and walked over to his dresser and opened two of the four drawers. They were both empty. He turned back to Donna and watched as the lightbulb finally went off in her head.

“Josh, what are you saying here?”

“I think you already figured it out.”

Donna gave him that look that screamed stop-being-a-baby-and-talk-to-me. He knew it all too well.

Josh shoved his hands in his pockets, feeling the knot in his stomach twist. He looked down at the floor, trying to find the courage. He wanted to take the next step with Donna more than anything. He never felt this way with any of the previous women in his life. For the first time in his life he knew what he wanted. What he couldn’t figure out was why it was so hard to say.

He picked his head up slowly, looking into Donna’s eyes. She was still standing in the middle of the room with the key in her hand.

“Move in with me Donna.” The words were more confident than the voice speaking them. He cleared his throat and started again. “I hate the nights when you’re not here. I can’t relax. The whole time is just me fighting every impulse I have to call you and beg you to come over.”

Donna started to relax a little bit. 

“I love waking up next to you in the morning and coming home with you at night. It’s like getting to hang out with my best friend every single day.”

He walked towards Donna and held both of her hands. He looked back and forth between her beautiful blue eyes. 

“Besides,” he said with a more relaxed tone, “you’re already here like five nights a week, so really this will save you gas money if nothing else.”

Donna rolled her eyes but smiled while doing it. It was a soft smile, one that held a hint of uncertainty. Josh didn’t like that look.

“Are you sure? I know this is a big step, and I don’t need you to be at this level yet if you’re not ready for this. I don’t want to jump the gun, and then a month or two from now you’re freaking out because this isn’t what you really wanted, it’s just what you thought I wanted.”

Josh’s heart sank.

“Is this not what you want?”

“No, that’s not what I’m saying.”

Donna held his face in her hands again. He knew she could read every worried expression on his face right now. He loved that she could do that.

Josh took a deep breath. 

“Donna, I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.” He settled his hands on her hips, looked in to her eyes, and said with a steady voice, “Move in with me. Please.” 

A slow smile crawled up Donna’s face.

“Okay.”

Josh’s eyes shot wide open as a huge grin unfolded on his face. He wrapped his arms around Donna’s waist and lifted her in to the air as he spun around. She started giggling and couldn’t stop even when he put her down. 

“Hey Josh,” she said as she tried to stop her giggles, “why did you give me a second key?”

Josh picked up the key from the box and fished something out of his pockets.

“I didn’t,” he said as he pulled out his own key ring from his pockets, “that one’s mine.”

Josh reattached his key to the key ring as Donna started laughing again. He could listen to the sound of her laugh forever.

When she finally stopped giggling, she wrapped her arms around his neck again. He leaned in and kissed her, this time with passion and a hunger for more. She seemed to understand his desire and took a turn of her own at the gift giving.

“Well,” she said at last, “now I think it’s time for you to get your real present.”

Josh’s eyebrows shot up as Donna started to remove her shirt. He could see lots of red lace laying covering her body, and he could not wait to explore it. He moved her over to the bed for their first adventure in their new shared home.


	6. New Hampshire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josh and Donna are invited to a party, and spend the weekend visiting old friends. Part 1.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is part 1 of the New Hampshire story, there will be a part 2 coming soon.

At 5pm on the dot, Judy knocked on the door and entered Donna’s office. 

“Donna, it’s 5, time to go,” she said as she stood in the doorway with Donna’s coat in hand.

“Way ahead of you Judy,” Donna replied as she finished placing the last few loose folders in her bag. She already shut off her computer, and forwarded calls to her office to her cell. “Wanna walk out with me?”

“Thanks, but I’m gonna finish putting together Monday’s schedule first.”

“Okay, but I’m calling you in an hour, and if you’re still at the office I’m having the Secret Service throw you out of the building.”

“I’m not answering any calls from you until Monday morning,” Judy replied as she tried to hide the grin on her face.

“You’re the best Judy, have a good weekend!”

Donna put on her coat as she strutted out of the East Wing. Her watch read 5:01 as she reached the lobby where her date was already there waiting for her.

*

“Josh,” said Margaret as she entered the office, “it’s 4:55.”

“Okay,” Josh responded without looking up from his briefing memo.

Margaret stood there for a moment while she waited for it to sink in.

“Wait, what?” he asked. 

“It’s 4:55,” she tried again, “you asked me to let you know when it was 4:55. It’s 4:56 now.”

“Right,” he mumbled as his brain still tried to catch up to what was happening. He stood up slowly and looked at Margaret for help.

“New Hampshire,” was all she said.

“RIGHT,” he said more urgently this time. He moved to the closet across the room to get his backpack and jacket as Margaret started to make piles of the things he would need. They packed the bag together and Josh was walking out of the office two minutes later.

“You’re coming to this thing right?” he asked as he started off down the hall.

“I’m getting in tomorrow afternoon,” Margaret replied following close behind, “but I’m not working!”

“Yeah I think Donna would kill me in my sleep if I tried to make you work on this trip.”

“She would, and I’d help her bury your body.”

Josh threw her a quizzical look, but Margaret held her perfectly serious gaze.

“God, I hate the Sisterhood.”

“Speaking of which, CJ called and said their flight was delayed, so she and Danny won’t be getting there until tomorrow morning.”

“Okay,” replied Josh as he flipped through the last few files in his hands and handed the excess ones back to Margaret, “I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

“See you there.”

Margaret took the rest of the files and headed back to the office just as they reached the lobby. Josh looked down at his watch as he leaned against the doorway; it read 5:00. 

Perfect timing. 

*

“Hey.”

The word was followed by a wide grin, accompanied by two dimples that Donna swears will kill her one day. 

“Hey,” she replied as she crossed the lobby to where he was standing. “I thought I was gonna have to pry you out of your office.”

“You’re late,” he replied with the grin still on his face. “You said we were leaving at 5.”

“I’m pretty sure my exact words were ‘I’m leaving at 5 with or without you.’”

“Same difference,” Josh held out his arm for her, “let’s go.”

Donna took hold of his arm as they walked out to the car that was already waiting for them with their bags in it. They slid in the backseat together, and the driver started for the airport. 

*

After they landed in New Hampshire, they were escorted to the farm by more than their usual amount of secret service agents. The drive was long, but Donna likes the winding roads covered with trees, and the mountain view all around them. It reminded her a little bit of home. 

The Bartlet’s were already waiting for them out on the front porch when their car pulled up to the farm. 

Abby greeted them with warm hugs, immediately followed by concerns that they weren’t getting enough sleep. Jed soon followed with a tour of the house and a lecture on the history of the family farm. 

Josh couldn’t care less about which generation of Bartlets added the orchards or the stables, but Donna was hanging on every word. She loves learning new things about anything and everything, and the amount of random things she actually remembers is astonishing. Donna was the only one out of them all that actually listened to the President’s tangents about whatever niche subject he was interested in that week. Sometimes she would even ask questions or debate him on factuality. Why? Because the only thing Donna Moss loves more than random facts and tidbits is listening to Jed Bartlet speak. 

Josh likes to think that he actually tops both of those things, but he knows that he probably comes in at numbr three on the list of things Donna loves. 

Abby caught Josh’s eye at that moment and gestured for him to follow her in to the kitchen. He did as he was told. 

“You look like you could use a drink,” she said as she guided him in to the next room. 

“Definitely,” he replied as his shoulders came down from his ears. 

*

“Josh!” 

Abby had just handed him his beer when he saw the young woman come barreling in from the next room. 

“Hey kid,” he managed to squeak out before Zoey Bartlet latched on for an all encompassing hug. 

When she finally let go, he noticed Charlie not far behind her. 

“Hey Josh,” Charlie greeted as he extended his hand. 

“Hey man,” Josh answered as he shook the young man’s hand. “How did your last final go?”

“Well, I think I got an A, but I won’t know for sure until next week.”

“Nice.” Josh took a long sip of his drink, purposefully not looking at Zoey. 

“Um, HELLO, don’t you want to ask me something?” Zoey asked. 

“Did you have a final last week?” he asked back, trying desperately to hide his grin. 

“I’m uninviting you to my party tomorrow,” she teased him back. 

Josh laughed and therefore lost the battle. 

“Alright, let me see it.”

Zoey stuck out her hand in front of him. On her ring finger was a beautiful diamond, resting in a silver setting that could only be described as old world elegance. No doubt a Bartlet family heirloom, it looked like it found the perfect home on her hand. 

“Wow, Zoe, it’s beautiful.”

Zoey blushed and wrapped her other arm around Charlie. 

The Bartlet’s were throwing Zoey and Charlie and engagement party that weekend. They invited the close friends to come up on Friday night, and the rest of the guests would join them on the farm on Saturday for the actual party. 

The initial group was supposed to include CJ and Danny, who had a delayed flight due to bad weather out west, and Sam and his fiancé. Unfortunately, Josh had to leave Sam behind to staff President Santos until Saturday at noon, when he would be joining the group in New Hampshire. To make it up to him, Josh gave Sam Monday morning off so that he could stay with the Bartlet’s through Sunday night. 

“So, how did you do it?” Josh asked as he turned to Charlie.

“Well, I-“

“Wait,” Josh interrupted “Donna’s gonna wanna hear this too.”

*

“Jed, just what do you think you’re doing?”

Donna was two steps down the back deck with the President close behind when they were caught red handed. 

“Busted,” he whispered to Donna before turning back to his wife in the doorway, “I was just going to show Donna the horses. The stable’s only a few yards away.”

“Jed.”

Donna could tell from Abby’s tone that she knew he was lying. 

“Okay fine, I wanted to show her the apple orchards. We were discussing-“

“Don’t care,” Abby interrupted as she helped the man back up the single step he had descended. “The orchards are a mile away from the house. It’s too cold for you to be going all the way out there tonight. You can bore Donna with the trees in the morning.”

“It’s not even that cold out!” Jed whined in response. 

“How about we compromise,” Abby stated as the two women watched Jed’s eyes light up. “Let’s light the fire pit and enjoy the slightly less than frigid night outside.”

“This is exactly why I married you,” he responded as he held out his arm for Abby to take as they walked back in to the house. 

Now Donna knew exactly where Josh had gotten that move from. 

*

The six of them sat around the fire all night sharing old and new stories, and laughing together for the first time in a long while. It was a beautiful May evening, where spring was turning in to summer, and the crisp New England air was beginning to fade. 

Josh and Donna entertained them with the crazy stories of the workings of the new administration. Charlie discussed some of his classes from  
his first year and Georgetown, and retold the proposal story twice that night. The Bartlet’s talked about their other daughters and their grandchildren, and how they would all be around tomorrow morning to help get the party ready. 

The Bartlet’s turned in around eleven, but the other four kept the fire burning until well after midnight. When they were finally too exhausted to carry on, the women made Charlie tell the proposal story one last time before they all turned in for the night

*

Donna was sitting up against the headboard reading a book when Josh finally crawled in to bed. They were set up in one of the guest rooms on the second floor of the New Hampshire house. Donna was hoping to finish the chapter before Josh drew her attention away from the book, but the arms wrapping around her waist were determined not to let that happen. 

“Hey you,” she said softly as he leaned in to kiss her. 

“Hi,” he responded with those dimples coming out in full force once again. 

Josh turned his head and laid it down on Donna’s stomach with his arms still wrapped around her back. He closed his eyes and let out a deep breath. 

When she tried to start reading her book again, he reached out and snatched it from her hands. He read the cover and then sat up a little. He noticed the two other books on the nightstand next to her, and his face went from surprised to completely confused. 

Donna didn’t get to see that face too often, but it was one of her favorites. He looked cute when he was being dumb. 

“Donna, honey, you brought FIVE books with you this weekend.”

“So?”

“This is not one of them. And neither are those,” he nodded in the direction of the other two books. 

“Again I will ask: so?”

Josh paused for a moment. 

“Do you grow books like you’re a tree, or do you just manifest them into existence?”

“The second one,” Donna answered as she attempted to grad the book back, but he was too fast. 

“Seriously, why do you have eight books for a two night vacation?”

“I don’t have eight books, I have three,” she answered as he gave her the book back. “Remind me to bring those other ones downstairs in the morning.”

“Why?”

“Because they’re not mine. Well, two of them are mine. Actually, one of them is mine and one of them is yours.”

“Mine?”

“Yeah I stole it from the bookshelf at home.”

“Donna, get to the point.”

“There are five books in my suitcase. Three of them were lent to me by President Bartlet, so I brought them here to return them. The other two are books from home that I brought for him to read. The two on the nightstand and the one in my hand are more books he gave me today.”

It took Josh a minute to process this. 

“And this is something you do often?”

“Exchange books? Sometimes.”

“Have you been taking trips to Manchester without me?”

“No, you stupid boy, we usually mail them like normal people.”

“So you just happen to have a private book club with the former President of the United States?”

“Pretty much yeah.”

Josh paused again. 

“Do you ever think about how weird our lives are?”

“All the time,” Donna replied with a smile. 

Satisfied with her answers, Josh kissed her slowly before he returned to snuggling Donna. He closed his eyes and held on to her. 

“Love you.”

“Love you too.”

Donna went back to reading her book, and she ran her fingers through his hair until he fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that it’s been AGES since the last chapter, but the latest addition is finally here. I already have most of the next chapter written, so hopefully that will be up later this week. Sorry for making you guys wait so long! Also, I know this chapter feels a little random, but I’ve had this story in my head for weeks and I needed to get it out.


	7. New Hampshire Pt. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the day of Zoey and Charlie's engagement party. Part of the old gang is reunited once again, and the day is filled with love (or loss?) for those who attend the party.

Josh woke up early the next morning. It was slightly earlier than when he usually woke up, and that was probably due to him not doing much work the night prior. His mind gets restless when it’s powered down for too long.

He looked over to see Donna sleeping soundly next to him. She had managed to close the book she was reading, but it was still residing curled up in her arms. Josh smiled at the image, and almost laughed, because when the President gives anyone an old book about who-knows-what, they usually try to ditch it at their earliest opportunity. But Donna wasn’t just anyone, and she cherished any time she got to spend with President Bartlet. Even though now she’ll battle him in an ongoing match of “who has the most interesting trivia bit today”, she still hangs on every word the former President speaks, all these years later. She looks at him the same way Josh imagined she looked at him on her TV screen the night she packed up her car and drove from Madison to Manchester.

Thank God for that night.

Josh shakes his head and smiles one more time before getting out of bed and jumping in the shower. He spends a while under the warm water, letting his muscles relax as he remembers that he doesn’t have to deal with any hot button issues today. Sure, there will be important people at the party later, but his friends will also be there. Friends he hadn’t seen in far too long, and others (mostly Sam) that he saw every day but rarely got to relax with. Today, that’s all he really cared about.

When Josh got out of the shower, he found Donna already up and dressed in layers of cold weather gear. She was sitting on the bed lacing up what looked to be hiking boots when she spotted him.

“Good morning,” she smiled at him as she finished tying the first boot.

“Hey,” Josh responded as he flopped down next to her, still in his towel. “I didn’t see hiking the Appalachian Trail on your schedule for today.”

“You’re hilarious.”

“Aren’t I?”

“You should be a comedian.”

“Do they make decent money?”

“The funny ones do. To you, however, I’d say don’t quit your day job just yet.”

Josh reached over and untied her shoe in retaliation to that remark.

“Seriously, why are you up and dressed so early?”

“I could ask you the same question.”

“Donna, if me being in a towel qualifies as being dressed, we’re gonna need to have a discussion about appropriate office attire.”

“I’m going out to the apple orchards with President Bartlet. He says it’s the best place to watch the sun rise over the hills.”

“Gee, being out in the open air on a frigid New Hampshire morning before the sun is even awake, that sure sounds like my idea of fun,” Josh responded with sarcasm dripping from his voice.

“I’m glad to hear you say that, because the President has requested that you join us.”

Josh let out a sigh. He really walked himself right in to that one.

“He’s not the President anymore, can’t I say no?”

“Have you tried saying no to him? I don’t think he comprehends the word.”

Donna finished retying her shoe and walked over to her suitcase. She pulled out a knit hat with matching mittens to complete her ensemble. Josh couldn’t tell if he liked them or thought they were ridiculous. The answer was probably both, because Donna walked that line far too well.

“You are adorable,” he called out as she put the hat on.

“Yet ill adored,” she absentmindedly as she looked at herself in the full-length mirror before deciding that she was satisfied with what she saw. “C’mon, get dressed or we’ll miss it.”

“Miss the sun rise?”

“Yes.”

“Donna, the sun rise is a very slow process, I’m sure we’ll be fine.”

“No, Josh, the sun rise is actually a very quick process. It takes roughly two minutes for the sun to rise, starting with the moment you see the first sliver of light and ending with the whole sun being visible to you.”

Josh stared at her for a moment before deciding he was too tired (and ill prepared) to debate the sun rise with Donna that morning. However, Josh being Josh, he had to get the last word.

“Did you learn that tidbit last night by the fire, or did you come on this trip with that one in your arsenal ready to go? You know what, don’t answer that, I don’t wanna know.” With that, he finally got off the bed and made way to his suitcase to get dressed.

“Meet me downstairs when you’re ready, I’m going to put these books back in the study.”

“Ah-kay.”

*

A little over an hour later, Josh and Donna were walking back towards the Manchester house through the apple orchards. President Bartlet had an agent drive all of them to the far side of the orchard to watch the sun rise. The three of them sat and watched the sun rise over the hills in the distance, and even Josh had to admit that it really was a sight to see. He even suggested to the former president that he should take Sam and CJ to see it bright and early the next morning (when he’s sure they’ll be hungover from the big party happening later that night).

After about an hour of watching the sun slowly rise in the sky, President Bartlet decided that he should probably get back to the house to supervise the party set up, which was a pretty obvious cover for him being an old man who couldn’t stand the cold as well as he used to. Josh and Donna just nodded their heads in agreement. The couple decided that they would take a leisurely walk through the orchard on their way back to the house, and so the President and his agent went on ahead of them in the truck.

They were walking through the orchard in a comfortable silence, arms wrapped around each other, and Josh couldn’t stop thinking about something the president had said to him that morning.

*

_~A half hour earlier~_

Donna had gotten a phone call from her deputy, who was finalizing the travel plans and luggage for Mrs. Santos to arrive in Manchester later that day. She excused herself from where they were sitting watching the sun rise to answer the call and walked just out of ear shot.

Josh absentmindedly watched her as she went over her mental checklist with her deputy. She always looked so calm and collected when dealing with her staff.

President Bartlet finally noticed that he was the only one staring at the horizon, and decided to interrupt Josh’s internal monologue.

“When are you finally going to marry that girl?”

Josh, the clever man that he is, came up with an eloquent response as his eyes were pulled away from their intended target and back to the president: “What?”

“Josh, I see the way you look at her, and all I can see is pure, true love. I’ve never seen you look at anyone else that way. I’ve even seen you look at Donna that way while you were actively NOT looking at the girl you were dating that way.”

Josh chuckled at that one. He used to think he was so subtle back then, but he knew now that he wasn’t fooling anyone, not even the President.

“We haven’t even been together a year, sir.”

“So?”

“What do you mean, so?”

“Josh, you’ve been in love with that girl for well over a year. And I’m willing to bet that she’s felt the same way for even longer. So, what exactly are you waiting for?”

Josh was quiet a moment while he tried to figure out the words. Talking about his feelings wasn’t exactly his greatest strength. Talking about Donna? Well, that was even harder to do, with overwhelming emotions he usually didn’t want others to see getting in the way.

“I don’t want to rush it.”

“It’s been almost a decade of you two, I wouldn’t exactly call that a rush.”

“It’s been a decade of us, but not in the way either of us wanted it to be.” He paused a moment to run his hand through his hair. “This, what we have now, it’s good. Really good. I just don’t want to skip anything, or mess anything up.”

“Ah, so that’s what it is.”

“What?”

“Josh, do you honestly think that if you asked Donna to marry you right now, there’s any chance she’d say no?”

Josh paused, but eventually answered. “Probably not.”

“I’d have to agree with you on that one.”

The two of them sat in silence for a few minutes, watching Donna wrap up her phone call. It was Josh who broke the silence first.

“Soon,” was all he said.

“Good,” Jed responded, “because if I have to wait another decade before I see a wedding invitation, I swear to God Josh – ”

“Mr. President,” Josh began to interrupt the president, but was then interrupted by Donna herself. Apparently, she was now off the phone, and approaching the two men.

“Hey,” she started, “so what are we talking about?”

“Timing,” President Bartlet replied with a smile.

Josh’s head whipped around to face him so fast he almost broke his neck.

The former president continued, “I was just telling Josh that a majority of people think that the sunrise takes a great deal of time, when in reality it takes approximately only two minutes for the sun to rise to full visibility in the sky.”

Donna immediately took the bait and started comparing facts about the sunrise with President Bartlet, while Josh sat between the two and stared off into the horizon with a smile on his face.

*

_~A half hour later~_

“Josh?”

The replaying of that conversation with President Bartlet stopped playing in his head as he turned to look at the adorable blonde with her arm around his waist.

“Yeah?”

“Did you enjoy watching the sun rise?”

Josh smiled back at her. “Turns out it really was a once in a lifetime morning.” He leaned down and kissed her briefly before they continued walking back to the house.

“I told you it would be worth it,” she smirked back at him.

You have no idea, he thought to himself.

*

When Josh and Donna finally arrived back at the Bartlet house it was in full party prep mode. Abbey and Zoey were talking to the party planners and scribbling things down in a notebook, while Jed and Charlie were “supervising”. Their idea of supervising was really just them repeating what Abbey and Zoey told the decorators to do.

In the height of the chaos, a car pulled up to the front porch and two familiar faces stepped out of it. Donna spotted them first.

“CJ!” she yelled as she took off through the front door and down the front steps.

“Donna!” the taller woman yelled back. They hugged each other as Danny finished getting the bags out of the trunk.

Donna and CJ were always good friends throughout the Bartlet administration. They’d even have their own girls’ nights once in a while. But, things changed between them when Donna left the White House and when CJ became the Chief of Staff. Josh never really understood why. It wasn’t until right before Inauguration Day that the two women seemed to find comfort in each other again. It came after a night of drinking between the two, followed by apologies, explanations, and tons of gossip about their newfound love lives.

Josh was happy to see the two rekindle their friendship before CJ and Danny flew across the country to get out of the spotlight for a while. Donna still called CJ once a week and the two would talk and laugh for what seemed like hours.

The rest of the group followed Donna out of the house to the new arrivals. Greetings and hugs were given between all, and Josh helped Danny carry the bags into the house.

“Wow, they’re really going all out for tonight, huh?” Danny asked as they climbed the stairs to where the guest bedrooms were on the second floor of the house.

“Did you honestly expect anything less?” Josh laughed.

“No,” Danny grinned, “just wishful thinking and all that.”

Josh’s brow started to rise. “Wishful thinking?”

“I guess I just was hoping for a more private weekend, just to catch up with old friends and all that. I’m not looking forward to playing politics later with diplomats and leaders of the free world.”

Josh knew that Danny was lying. Danny was too smart NOT to know what to expect from a party at the Bartlet Farm. LA couldn’t have possibly changed him that much, Josh was certain of it.

He stared wide eyed at Danny for about sixty seconds before Danny finally caved.

“Okay fine,” Danny rolled his eyes and shut the bedroom door behind them. “Can you keep a secret?”

“Well, they don’t let me in to the Situation Room because of my wit, so I can only assume–”

“Very funny,” Danny deadpanned, “I’m serious Josh, you can’t tell anyone, not even Donna.”

“What makes you think I would tell Donna?”

Now it was Danny’s turn to look unamused.

“Alright fine, I promise I won’t tell anyone, not even Donna.”

Josh couldn’t remember a time in his life where he saw Danny nervous. Until now. The man was bouncing with nervous energy in a very Josh-like way. He took a deep breath and pulled a small black box out of his coat pocket.

Inside was a small silver band topped with a larger sapphire stone that was surrounded completely with smaller diamonds. It was a beautiful engagement ring, and Josh couldn’t help but think it would lovely on the hand of Claudia Jean.

“Danny, I’m flattered but this is all moving too fast,” he joked.

“Shut up,” Danny replied with the hint of a smile resurfacing on his face. “I’m want to ask CJ to marry me.”

Josh winced. “It’s a little tacky to propose at somebody else’s engagement party, isn’t it?”

“I’m not doing it tonight you idiot.”

“Good.”

“I’d like to think I’m a little more romantic than that.”

“So when are you going to do it?”

“I don’t know.” Danny put the ring back in his jacket pocket and started to radiate that nervous energy again. “I bought the thing two weeks ago but I couldn’t figure out where or when to do it. Nothing seemed right. CJ’s not the type to want a big public proposal but doing it alone in our house didn’t seem quite right either. To be honest with ya, I almost did it on the damn airplane ‘cause I can barely wait any longer. And what the hell are you smiling at?”

Josh couldn’t help the smile forming on his face.

“Danny, do you know how long it takes for the sun to rise?”

*

“Why are we doing this again?”

“Doing what?”

“Getting ready together.”

“Because it’s fun,” CJ replied, “and because I need a little time with the sisterhood! I haven’t quite found out my posse yet in LA.”

“I meant why aren’t we getting ready with the guys too?”

“Because,” Donna chimed in, “their reactions are worth it every time.”

“Reactions? To what?”

“Us, of course,” CJ laughed. “Their dumb male brains can’t comprehend how glamorous we look, and they all get that stupid look on their faces for a minute.”

“I think it’s endearing,” Donna hummed, “shows how much they really love us.”

“Plus, it drives them crazy. They can’t keep their hands off of you all night.”

“That too.”

Zoey giggled. She was really happy that the two ladies were there with her. She always thought of them as her second set of sisters, especially now when her two real sisters were with their families. They were at the farm, they wouldn’t dare miss the party, but they had little munchkins (and husbands) they had to dress and feed before the festivities.

“I’m glad you guys are here,” Zoey said, breaking her own daydream.

“Me too,” Donna smiled back as she held two necklaces up to her face, waiting for Zoey to help her choose.

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world kiddo,” CJ took the necklace on the right and threw it back in Donna’s jewelry bag without missing a beat.

Donna unclasped the one necklace remaining in her hands and moved to put it around her neck. “You and Charlie should come over for dinner next week,” she mused. “It’s been, what, a month since the last time? And CJ and Danny are staying with us ‘til next weekend, so we can make it a whole thing.”

“Yes please! It’s been too long already. We’ll be here on the farm until Tuesday, but I’m sure we could come any day after that,” Zoey replied.

“I’ll have my people contact your people,” Donna grinned, “we’ll set it up.”

The three women took one last look at themselves in the mirror.

“Stunning.”

“Beautiful.”

“Exquisite.”

They all looked at each other in the mirror for half a second before bursting into laughter.

“Okay ladies,” CJ stated as the laughing subsided “let’s go find our boys.”

*

Josh and Danny couldn’t sit still. They were basically doing laps around the living room waiting for the women. Josh knew why Danny was a nervous ball of energy; when you know you’re getting engaged in the morning, anything between now and then seems unimportant. Josh, unfortunately, was just always like this. Even more so when Donna was involved. So, the two men kept pacing the length of the living room in comfortable silence.

“You two are gonna burn a hole in the rug if you don’t stop moving,” Charlie interjected after watching them go back and forth for far too long.

They both stopped and looked at Charlie for a good twenty seconds before involuntarily starting to pace again. Charlie just rolled his eyes and took another sip of his beer.

Luckily, it wasn’t too much longer until the women emerged from their hair and makeup suite and descended the stairs to join the three men.

First came CJ, per usual, leading the way in her silver dress with a blue wrap hanging loosely from her shoulders. Josh thought her new ring would match her current outfit perfectly. Too bad she would have to wait until the morning to get it.

Next came Zoey, donning a simple white dress with her hair in an updo similar to CJ’s. Josh figured that CJ probably did it for her, and he smiled at the image he pictured of the two ladies laughing together while CJ struggled pin Zoey’s hair just right.

Finally, down came his Donna. Dressed in a blush-colored dress (not too light to be confused with white, but not too dark to call it a true pink) with her hair in loose curls around her face, she was the most beautiful woman Josh had ever seen. She was always the most beautiful woman to Josh, but something about her in formal wear always made his brain stop functioning for a little too long.

“You left me your bowtie.”

Josh took a beat.

“What?”

Donna laughed as he came back to reality. Somehow, she had managed to walk all the way over to him and start tying his undone bowtie while he was still staring at her in that dress. He circled his hands around her waist as she finished tying the fabric in front of her.

“Much better,” she said as she tugged on the tie one last time. She looked up and met his eyes, and what she saw in them was pure adoration.

“You look amazing.”

She smiled at his comment. Every time she got dressed up for some function or another, he always told her the same thing. You look amazing. She was afraid she’d get tired of hearing the same comment over and over again, but each time he said it with sincerity and with his whole heart. She knew he wasn’t good at figuring out which words to say, but how he said them meant everything to her.

Donna took his face in one hand and tilted her chin up to place one sweet kiss on his cheek.

To which Josh immediately tightened his grip on her and kissed her for real. It was simple and it was brief, but the love shared between them in that moment was immeasurable.

“I don’t think I’m ever gonna get used to that.”

They turned their heads in unison towards CJ who was being half dragged out of the room by Danny. He gave Josh a quick wink as he led her through the door and out to join the rest of the party.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it either,” said Donna as she brought her attention back to her very handsome date for the evening.

Josh grinned.

“Good,” he responded as he held his arm out for her to take. “Wouldn’t want you getting bored of me already.”

“You? Boring?” she questioned as she took his arm, “Never.”

The couple followed in the footsteps of their friends and ventured outside to join the rest of the party. They were in for a night of celebration and fun with some of their closest friends, and they knew they were lucky enough to get to do it all together.

*

“I heard you were wandering around here somewhere.”

Sam Seaborn nearly choked on his drink when the mysterious feminine voice whispered in his ear. He had been leaning casually against the outdoor bar while his eyes followed a couple along the dance floor. He turned around slowly, and then let out a slight laugh.

“Claudia Jean!” he exclaimed as he put his drink down on the bar and moved to hug her. The two hadn’t seen much of each other in the last few years. They kept loosely in touch writing letters back and forth every so often (Sam thinks email is great for work, but there’s nothing quite like receiving a hand written letter from your friend in the mail) joined with the occasional phone call now that he was back in DC. They got together once during the transition, but it was one brief drink between them before CJ was pulled back to the office for Kazakhstan business and Sam had to help Josh with the fallout from whatever that business would bring.

The two parted from their embrace, and CJ ordered a drink at the outdoor bar while Sam leaned against it. His eyes found the couple he was following from before and he let out a deep breath.

“You alright there sparky? Where’s your lovely lady this evening?”

“She couldn’t make it,” he responded half heartedly.

“Couldn’t get the time off of work? I thought that was supposed to be your thing,” CJ joked.

“No she got the time off,” Sam started, choosing his words carefully, “she’s just using it to do other things instead.”

CJ tilted her head inquisitively.

Sam let out a sigh and hung his head slightly. “She’s going back to California.”

She took a long sip of her drink, waiting for him to continue.

“It was all a little too much for her,” Sam started again. “My long hours, the elaborate functions, constantly meeting and trying to impress important dignitaries… It wasn’t what she was expecting when she agreed to move out here with me.”

“Do you regret it?” CJ asked cautiously.

“Do I regret moving back to DC to do this job, or do I regret proposing and bringing her out here in the first place?”

“Either. Both.”

“No.”

Sam sighed again. “I don’t regret proposing. I do love her. If we were back in California together, she would have been the only thing making it bearable. I was drowning in that office out there. Sure, the sunshine and free time were nice on the weekends, but my mind was slipping away as the seconds ticked on. It wasn’t fulfilling anymore, not after doing what we did. Nothing compares.”

He paused and took a sip of his drink.

“And I don’t regret coming back either. I haven’t felt this alive since the night I lost the 47th. Well, right before I lost it I guess,” he chuckled. “Why is it always one or the other? A woman I love with a job that’s killing me on the inside, or a chance at the dream of making our country better with no one there to share it with.”

“I know the feeling,” CJ responded empathetically.

His eyes found the dancing couple again, but this time CJ traced his line of vision and found what he was staring at. She wrapped her arm around his shoulders as she stared at their friends too.

“They make it look easy.”

Out on the dance floor, Josh and Donna were swaying in circles to the music. They were starting to dance to their third song in a row, but they didn’t even seem to notice the band changing melodies. They were wrapped up in each other’s arms, talking and laughing like they were the only two people on the farm.

“They might make it _look_ easy, but we know it was anything but,” CJ replied sadly.

“I heard they couldn’t even speak to each other for almost a year,” Sam said giving CJ a sideways glance. “I can’t even begin to imagine a world where Josh wasn’t talking to Donna every five minutes, let alone a whole year.”

“It wasn’t pretty,” CJ responded. “Granted, I was stuck at the White House for most of it, but I heard the rumors. They both left within two days of each other. I remember thinking _finally_. I kept waiting for the day when the press room would finally snag a picture of the two of them out and about somewhere. I kept waiting for the day when I could say _finally, he got it together_ , and I wouldn’t even have to worry about it because they weren’t in the White House anymore. I heard the rumor mills buzzing about Josh flying down and hand picking then-Governor Santos out of Houston himself. I always assumed Donna was down there with him, and those two were on some crazy adventure together. It wasn’t until two months later when Donna called me about a scheduling conflict for Russell between his VP schedule and his campaign schedule that I realized how wrong I was.”

Out on the dance floor, Donna had just put her head down on Josh’s shoulder. His one arm circled more around her waist, while the other brought their joint hands in to his chest. He even bowed his head a little so that his lips were right at her ear. He was saying something softly – no he was _singing_ softly to her as her smile grew wider.

The scene caused the two friends at the bar to smile a little as well.

“Anyways,” CJ continued, “by that time I was too late. I tried talking to her about it, but she wouldn’t even begin to talk to me about Josh. She said it was ancient history, but I swear I could hear the sadness in her voice every time she said it. I saw them both, individually, once or twice over the next few months and they looked terrible. I don’t mean the general worn down that the campaign life does to your soul, but they both just looked so unhappy.”

“He called me once you know,” Sam mused. “It was right after the convention. I knew they had been on opposing campaigns, but I had no idea how bad it had gotten between them. I was completely oblivious. He calls me up one night, probably after a few drinks and absolutely no sleep, and he sounds like he’s on the verge of a panic attack. He kept saying ‘I can’t do this; I can’t do this alone’. When he finally managed to catch his breath, I told him he wasn’t alone. He wasn’t ever really alone, all he had to do was look around the room and find Donna. Next thing I heard from either of them was after he won the election and they were like that,” he gestured to the dancing couple.

“This was right after the convention? CJ asked.

“Yeah, it was two or three days later I think.”

“And you think your little pep talk really worked?” CJ asked

“I really do,” Sam took another sip of his drink with a grin on his face.

“I hate to break it to you, but you’re wrong.” CJ stifled a laugh.

Sam just looked at her.

“See, I’m willing to bet that he called you the night _after_ he didn’t hire Donna when she came to him for a job on the Santos campaign.”

“But Donna worked on the Santos campaign.”

“Yeah, _after_ she got rejected by Josh and went back home to Wisconsin to start volunteering in a field office. They realized who she was and what she could do, so they promoted her to the state office pretty quickly. After that, Lou picked her out of the crowd and put her on national press. Josh didn’t even know about it until she was already doing a live press conference for the campaign on TV.”

“I don’t understand. Donna went to him and he didn’t hire her? Why?”

“No one really knows,” CJ mused. “He’ll say that it was because she was the face of the attack on Santos from the Russell campaign, but we all know no one cares about the primaries after the convention. I think he was still hurting and didn’t trust her.”

“That’s bullshit,” Sam responded. “He might have been angry with her, but I don’t think he ever stopped trusting her. Just like I don’t think she ever gave up faith in him.”

“Maybe. Maybe not.”

Sam paused. “Who would’ve known that after all that, they still ended up like this?”

CJ smiled.

“We knew.”

“We always knew.”

The pair watched their friends dance for a little longer. Neither one of them seemed able to take their eyes off of the very happy couple.

“The way I see it,” CJ started, “right now you’re in your Houston moment.”

“My Houston moment?”

“Yeah. The moment where everything is about to change. You don’t know how or when, but it will change for the better.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Sam, someday you will find your Donna. And I pray to God that when you do, it will take you less than two Presidential terms to reel her in.”

The two shared a smile at Josh’s expense.

“You really think I’ll find her?”

“I really do.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because,” CJ said as she held her arm out waiting for someone, “I already found mine.”

Danny Concanon slid into Sam’s line of vision and the two men shook hands before Danny wrapped his arm around his date. “Found your what?”

“My Donna.”

“She’s right over there,” Danny gestured to the dance floor.

“Stop talking,” CJ ordered with a smile.

“Ah-kay.”

Sam had to force himself not to laugh.

CJ and Danny excused themselves and made their way to the dance floor. If Josh or Donna noticed the couple start dancing close to them, neither one of them showed it. Sam guessed that they were too wrapped up in each other to notice anything else at that point.

He finished the last sip of his drink and pushed himself off of the bar. He did half a lap around the party before spotting a friend he hadn’t seen in a long, long time.

*

The party carried on late into the night. President Santos and his crew had left, and a decent amount of the guests followed soon after. The only guests left at that point were family, and friends that were as good as. They talked, and they laughed, and they danced with each other for hours.

Josh danced with CJ and they laughed the whole time while bickering about who would lead. Sam shared a song with Donna, twirling her around the dance floor. Danny and Charlie took turns dancing with Abbey Bartlet. Jed shared one dance with each of his daughters.

Somewhere during the night, Josh found himself huddled with Jed in the corner telling him about how interested CJ and Danny were in seeing the same sunrise that they had witnessed that morning. Five minutes later CJ was promising the former president a 5am adventure. A little later, just before Jed and Abbey slipped off to bed, Josh dropped a hint or two that Jed might not want to watch the _entire_ sunrise for a second morning in a row. Jed promised to fake a very important call in the middle and leave the couple alone.

Donna listened to Sam talk about his now ex-fiancée for a short while before turning his night around. She put her foot down and told him that he was not allowed to be depressed while at this party (that’s what workdays White House are for, silly). Sam did manage to have a surprisingly good time after that. He caught up with a friend or two from the old days that he wasn’t expecting to see at the party. He ate good food, drank good beer, and danced with all of his friends until the smile on his face was sure to last the night.

Josh and Donna danced together more than once that night. Each time it was exactly like it always was, just the two of them together, and nothing else mattered. Even though they broke apart to mingle with guests and friends, or to dance with other partners, somehow whenever there was a lull, they always found their way back to each other.

They would have been the last two on the dance floor at the end of the night, except for the fact that technically it wasn’t _their_ party. So, when it came down to it, they bowed out of the last song, and left the last two remaining party guests alone on the dance floor as the band sang them goodnight. Zoey and Charlie never looked happier.

*

It was 5:30am when Donna’s phone started buzzing on the table beside the bed. She was tangled up with Josh when she regrettably had to move away to grab the device. As she rolled over to grab it, Josh’s arm grabbed at her waist pulling her back in.

“Josh,” she whispered.

He released his grip just enough for her to reach her cell phone. She wasn’t sure he was even awake.

“Hello,” she said with a yawn as she flipped open the phone.

“Donna!” came a voice that rang through her head. “Are you dressed?”

Donna thought she must have been hungover. That had to account for the echoes she was hearing.

“Who is this?”

“It’s CJ, are you dressed?”

Donna heard the voice loudly through the phone pressed to her right ear, but then faintly echoed from her left. Nothing was on that side of her but the bedside table and the door.

“What?”

“Donna, do you have clothes on or not? I don’t want to come in there and find you naked.”

Something was starting to click in to place in her mind.

“Are you outside my door right now?”

“Donna!”

“Yeah, we have clothes on but – ”

CJ busted into the room with the biggest smile on her face.

“I’M ENGAGED!”

Donna blinked a few times before registering the beautiful diamond and sapphire ring on the hand that was thrust in her face.

“oh mY GOD!”

Josh mumbled “Congratulations” in his half-asleep state, and then rolled away from the two women, stealing Donna’s pillow to cover his ears from all the yelling.

Donna shot him a look that he ignored, and then moved over and patted the bed next to her for CJ to sit down.

“Tell. Me. Everything.”

CJ recounted the morning’s events for her, sparing nothing, and the two women squealed. Just then, Zoey Bartlet burst through the door and shrieked when she saw the ring. Charlie appeared in the doorway right behind her.

“Alright,” Josh groaned as he rolled back over, “everyone who is not my girlfriend, please leave my room before I murder all of you.”

They almost started to laugh before he shot each of them death glares.

The trio left, saying they were going to go save Danny from the speech the Jed was currently delivering to him over breakfast. Donna elbowed Josh in the ribs.

“Ow, what was that for?”

“Did you even hear her? CJ is ENGAGED. To DANNY. Earth to JOSH.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” he replied as his arms snaked around her waist in an attempt to pull her back down into the blankets with him.

Donna was quiet for a moment.

“Oh my God! You knew!” she jumped up from the bed.

“What?”

“You knew he was going to propose! Oh my – you told him where to do it!”

Josh looked up at her wide eyed. “…yeah?”

“And you didn’t tell me!”

Josh collapsed back on the bed laughing. “Come here.”

Donna crawled back under the covers with him and propped her chin up on his chest.

“Yes, I knew he was going to propose,” Josh started. “But I was sworn to absolute secrecy, so I couldn’t tell you.”

“How long have you known?”

“Only since they got here yesterday,” he laughed. “I told him about how perfect our morning was yesterday, and we decided that it would be the perfect spot.”

“We?”

“Okay, _he_ decided, but I was a big contributing factor to that decision.”

Donna smiled at him before leaning in and giving him a long slow kiss.

“What was that for?” he asked.

“You really are very sweet sometimes.”

The two stayed in bed for a few minutes longer, snuggled up and making out until they were interrupted from a voice downstairs.

“JOSHUA!”

They broke their kiss and started laughing.

“I think someone is summoning you,” she giggled as he got up.

“Oh no,” he replied as he yanked the blankets off of her as he moved towards the door. “I do believe that the former President of the United States is summoning _us_ to breakfast, Donatella.”

She got up off of the bed as he held out his hand for her.

“You ever think about how cool our lives are?”

He smiled as she grabbed his hand and followed him through the hallway and down the stairs.

“All the time.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took forever to get out. I had an idea for it, but I got lost somewhere in the middle and couldn't figure out how to write my way out of it. Then, months later, inspiration struck and I figured out the ending. I hope you all like it :)
> 
> I still have a lot of ideas for the future of this story, so I don't see an end in sight for now. That said, I have no idea when the next chapter will be posted. Could be two days, could be two months. Sorry about that.
> 
> I'm also working on some ideas for separate J/D stories, so be on the lookout if you're interested in seeing any of those in the future.


	8. Missing You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a few ideas I had for how Josh would act while Donna was away on a trip with the First Lady for a few days. Hint: He does not care for it.
> 
> *Not my characters, just love writing them*

Summer in DC was in full bloom this week. It was mid-July and sweltering outside. The air conditioning in Josh’s building stopped working while he was at work that day. The super said it should be fixed by morning, but right now it was stifling in his apartment. He figures he should be glad that there wasn’t a second body in his bed adding heat to his already uncomfortable state, but really, he’d give anything to have her here with him.

Josh rolled over and stared at his alarm clock. _2:15_. It was only 11:15 in California. He could call her; she’d probably still be awake. But if he did that, then she’d know that he was still awake. And that would lead to her discovering that he didn’t leave the office until after midnight.

She’d figure it out anyways when she got home in a few days, she always did. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to take care of himself while she was away, he just couldn’t help it. If he went home any earlier than midnight, he’d just lie awake for hours until exhaustion eventually took over.

He wasn’t sure exactly when it happened, but one day he realized that he couldn’t sleep without her. It was just easier to fall asleep if he knew she was right next to him or tangled up in his arms. At the end of every day, being with her made all the hardships worth it. Somehow, she made everything better.

The first few times she was elsewhere in the country, Josh was restless throughout the night. He would fall asleep, but he’d toss and turn enough that the next morning he was more tired than when he went to bed. Eventually, the day came where she went with the First Lady on an overnight trip, and Josh just didn’t sleep that night. He laid there awake until the sun came up. It was one of the lonelier nights he’s had in his adult life. That was a rough one.

He thought about the next night after that. He told her about his insomnia when she got home the next day. She ran her fingers through his hair and up and down his back as he held on to her in their bed. She really did make everything better. Within minutes he was halfway to the deepest sleep of his life, but right before he slipped into unconsciousness, she whispered something to him.

_I’m always just a phone call away._

He looked at the clock again. _2:30_. Shit.

Josh decided to roll the dice. He reached over to unplug his blackberry from the charger. Just as he held it up to his face, it buzzed.

_Text message from: Donna_

_The event went great!_   
_Call me in the morning, I love you._

He smiled as he hit speed dial number one.

“Hello?”

“Hey, it’s me.”

“Hey,” Josh could hear the smile forming on her face as she said it. “Did I wake you up?”

“No, I was already awake,” he admitted.

“How late did you stay at the office this time?”

Josh chose to ignore the question. “The AC in the apartment is broken and it’s like a damn sauna in here. I can’t sleep.”

“Isn’t it one of the hottest weeks of the year in DC right now?” she asked.

“Yup.”

“I’m sorry,” she said with a sympathetic tone, “that really sucks.”

“It doesn’t suck half as much as not having you here to endure this torture with me.”

“I know the feeling. Hang on a sec.”

The line was quiet for a few seconds as Josh waited. Well, tried to wait anyways.

“Donna?”

No answer.

“Donna?”

No answer again.

Josh was just about to hang up and redial the number when her voice came across the phone.

“I’m back.”

“Where’d you go?” he asked.

“I was in the elevator; didn’t think you’d be able to hear me.”

“Oh.”

“You were about to hang up on me, weren’t you?”

“No…”

“Yes.

“I was gonna call you right back.”

“You have no patience, you know that? None. Zero.”

“Yeah, but it’s one of my more charming qualities, don’t you think?”

“Well, if you ask any member of Congress that question, I’m sure they would have to disagree with you there.”

“Good thing I’m not asking Congress then.”

“A good thing indeed.”

“ _Donna_ ,” he whined.

“Yes, you are very charming Joshua,” Donna replied as she closed the hotel room door behind her.

“That’s all I needed to hear,” he said smugly into the phone. “Are you still with the First Lady?”

“No, I just got back my hotel room.”

“Getting ready for bed?”

“Mhm,” Donna responded as she put the call on speakerphone. She placed the cellphone on the bathroom counter and began to take off her makeup.

“How was the event?” he asked.

“It was great. The First Lady’s speech went over well with the crowd, and then she took a few questions after.”

“How did she do with those?”

“You should watch some of the clips tomorrow, I think you’ll like her answers.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that she stayed on message and was very supportive of the President’s agenda.”

“Good, I’ll take a look at some of it tomorrow.”

Donna knew that he meant it. He always made time to watch it later if there was an event or a speech that she was particularly proud of.

“Did _you_ like her answers?” he asked.

“I loved them,” Donna answered honestly. “She’s always been good about answering on message, especially with all the practice drills we do. But tonight, it was how she answered them that I was impressed with.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, she’s starting to look less robotic and more empathetic. I mean _I_ realize how much she cares about the issues and how much thought and effort she puts into this job, but tonight I think America was starting to realize it too.”

“All thanks to you.”

“No, she’s always been this way.”

“It’s one thing to _be_ that way, it’s another thing entirely to _act_ that way in front of millions of people on national television.”

“I guess so,” Donna said half-heartedly.

“You guess so?” Josh frowned. “Donna, you remember what she was like six months ago. She had no sense of what to do in the public eye, at least not on a national level. Look at her now, you and your team have done an incredible thing.”

Donna smiled at that. Josh only praised his staffers’ work when he really meant it, and he was no different when it came to her and the East Wing. She valued his opinion professionally and personally, so it meant a lot to her when he complemented her work.

“How would you know, you haven’t even seen the clips yet,” she joked back.

“Because I know _you_ , and I know you wouldn’t tell me to watch them unless they were really good or really bad. And my gut is telling me they’re good.”

“Okay,” Donna conceded.

Josh rolled over and stretched his arm out on the empty side of the bed. Having the real Donna in his bed would be ideal but hearing her voice for now would have to do.

“What are you doing now?” he asked.

“I’m climbing into bed,” she answered as she did just that. “Traveling always wipes me out.”

“I know,” he laughed, “summer of ’98, you fell asleep five minutes into every drive on the campaign bus, more often than not with your head on my shoulder.”

“Hey, that Bartlet for America bus had really comfy seats.”

“It was a bus seat Donna, how comfy could it have been?”

“Okay, so maybe it was you that was comfy to lean on,” she said as she smiled at the memory.

“Did I ever tell you,” he started to laugh, “about the time Leo and I had a full meeting in the back of the bus, with you asleep on my shoulder the entire time?”

“No, because that never happened,” she challenged, “you would never have let me sleep through a team meeting.”

“It wasn’t a team meeting, it was just me and Leo,” Josh responded as he closed his eyes, picturing the day. “Everyone else was kind of doing their own thing. Leo was sitting up near the front of the bus, and he calls out over his shoulder that he wants to go over some new polling data with me. Not wanting to wake the poor exhausted girl on my arm, I don’t yell back right away.”

Donna can hear him smiling as he tells her the story. She snuggles up under the covers a little more as she listens to him.

“So, he gets up ready to turn around and yell at me, only to find out that when he does, I’m sitting there like a damn deer in the headlights pointing at you, fully trying to push the blame on to anyone other than myself at that point.”

Josh rolled on to his back and let himself laugh a little.

“He rolls his eyes in that true dramatic Leo way of his, waving his arms a little bit as he does it, but then he walks to the back of the bus and sits down in the seat across from us. We sat there pouring over polling data and strategizing the next few days for at least an hour. Meanwhile, you’re out cold the entire time, and I’m trying insanely hard not to move my left arm at all.”

“How am I supposed to believe that any of this actually happened?” she joked, knowing full well that it was probably all completely true.

“Because for as long as I live, I’ll never forget what he said after that meeting. Leo gets up to leave, but before he goes, he takes one long look at you, turns to me and says, ‘Don’t do anything stupid, we need people like her.’ I asked him what he meant by that, but all he did was shrug and say, ‘She’s one of the good ones.’”

Donna could feel the tears forming, but she kept her tone light. “Was that the same night that you fell asleep and started drooling on me?”

“The very same,” Josh replied with a soft laugh.

The two of them remained silent for a few moments, reminiscing on the highlights of that summer.

“Donna?” Josh finally broke the silence.

“Yeah?” she yawned back.

“I wish you were here.”

“I wish I was there too.”

Just then, Josh heard the air conditioning kick on. She really did make everything better.

*

The next morning came, and Josh was in the office by 7. His morning went by quickly, leading senior staff and then being shuffled from meeting to meeting by Margaret. He was halfway done with his day before he heard from Donna again.

“Josh,” Margaret said as he strode past her into his office, “you have five minutes before your meeting in the oval, and Donna is on line one in your office.”

“I’m five minutes ahead of schedule? When has that ever happened?”

“Never.” Margaret followed him into the office and switched out the files in his hands for the ones on his desk. “You’re actually twenty-five minutes behind, but I rescheduled your eleven o’clock for this afternoon, so you have a free five minutes right now.”

“Yeah, sounds about right. She’s on line one?”

“Yes,” Margaret replied as she began to leave, already beginning to sort through the folders from his last meeting.

“What would I do without you, Margaret?”

“Probably spiral out of control and be completely burnt out by the end of the week.”

Josh paused midair with his hand an inch from the phone. He looked up at her expecting more, but all she did was shrug, eyes never leaving the files she was flicking through.

“Thanks, Margaret,” he deadpanned.

“Oval in four,” were her last words as she ducked out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Josh took a deep breath and tried to immediately forget that entire conversation. He collapsed in his chair and put his feet up on the desk before picking up the phone.

“Josh Lyman,” he recited into the phone as he pressed the button for line one.

“Hey, it’s me,” Donna answered.

“Good morning, sunshine,” he teased.

“More like afternoon for you.”

Josh glanced at his watch. “How was the pancake breakfast thing this morning?”

“How’d you know we had an event this morning?”

“What do you mean?”

“It just got added to our schedule late last night.”

“I have a copy of your schedule.”

“An updated copy?”

“Yeah, Margaret puts one on my desk every morning.”

“Even when I’m home?”

“No, just when you’re away. I just like knowing where you are”

“…why?”

“Well, the First Lady usually covers several states when you guys go on these trips, and events are always been added on and rearranged. This way I usually have an idea of your general whereabouts in the country even if I haven’t heard from you in a few hours.”

“No, I meant why do you like knowing where I am?”

“Because when you’re away and a memo comes across my desk saying that there’s a hurricane rolling across Texas, or a tornado has touched down in the Midwest, I like to know that you’re not anywhere near where that terrible thing is happening.”

Josh could practically feel Donna blush on the other end of the line.

“Oh,” was all she said.

“So,” Josh continued, circling back to the point, “how was the breakfast thing?”

“It wasn’t as good as last night, but it did well overall. The First Lady did great, and now we’re getting a move on to show number two for the day.”

“You guys are just a well-oiled machine over there, aren’t you?” Josh asked as Margaret’s head popped back in the doorway, telling him he has two minutes before his next meeting.

“We really are,” Donna smiled into the phone, “how are things going over there?”

“Long day, but nothing too crazy. Everyone seems to have their own project their working on at the moment, and I’m letting them all run with it. As for me, I’ve got a briefing with the President in about 45 seconds, and then we’re gonna get lunch.”

“You and the President?”

“Yeah, we’re gonna go back to the residence for a half hour and watch some of the clips of the First Lady from last night while we eat. I thought he might want to see his wife in action.”

“He’ll be proud of her, and you will be too.”

“I don’t think it’s her I’ll be proud of,” Josh quipped with a small smile forming.

“I don’t want to keep you but call me later and let me know what you think,” Donna replied with a matching grin. “You still going out with Sam later?”

“Yes, we are going to eat and drink as men do.”

“So, you’re going to the Hawk & Dove to get cheeseburgers and beer?”

“Yeah, pretty much.”

“Okay, love you.”

“Love you too.”

*

It was just after five when she got the first text from Josh.

_Josh:_   
_Heading over to H &D, call me later._

It was just after eight in DC, and she was thankful that Sam dragged him out of the office at a reasonable hour. The night off would be good for him, and the drinking would probably help him sleep a little bit tonight.

It was an hour later when the next text came in.

_Josh:_   
_Hi_

_Donna:_   
_Hi_

_Josh:_   
_Hi_

Donna rolled her eyes. Clearly, the boys had a few beers already.

_Donna:_   
_You said that already_

_Josh:_   
_Second one was from Sam_

_Donna:_   
_Hello Sam_

She waited for another message, but none came. It wasn’t until later, when she was walking into that evening’s formal dinner event that she heard from him again.

_Josh:_   
_You look amazing._

_Donna:_   
_How do you know?_

_Josh:_   
_I just do._

Donna blushed. That was about as sweet as Josh could get over text. With a grin she was trying to suppress, she silenced her phone, and was about to slip it in her purse when she was caught red handed.

“I saw that,” Annabeth said casually. “Letters from home?”

“More like texts from the bar.”

“He turns into a sap when he drinks, doesn’t he?”

“Little bit,” Donna replied as she let the smile unfold across her face.

“What did he say?”

“He said I look amazing.”

“How would he know?”

Donna handed Annabeth the phone, showing her the message she sent with the exact same question and his response. Annabeth practically melted.

“Don’t tell him I showed you that, he’ll be worried you think he’s gone soft.”

“The only time Josh Lyman is ever soft is when he’s dealing with you. Any other time, the rest of us know better.”

Donna slipped her phone into her purse finally, and the two of them listened to the speaker who was introducing Helen.

Donna didn’t look at her phone again until she was in the motorcade on the way back to the hotel. The screen read 12 new text messages. Most of them were from Josh, and a few were from Sam.

_Josh:_   
_Sam keeps yelling at me for checking my phone._

_Josh:_   
_I miss you_

_Josh:_   
_Sam sucks at darts._

_Sam:_   
_Josh sucks at darts._

_Josh:_   
_Don’t listen to Sam_

_Josh:_   
_We’re leaving H &D now_

_Josh:_   
_Home, call me later_

_Sam:_   
_Josh made it home_

_Sam:_   
_I also made it to your home_

_Josh:_   
_Sam is crashing here, too drunk to make it home_

_Josh:_   
_You guys are on tv_

_Josh:_   
_You really do look amazing_

Donna waited until she was back in her hotel room before hitting speed dial #1.

“DONNA!” two voices shouted back at her.

She couldn’t help but laugh at the two drunken men in her apartment. They sounded so young and carefree when they were like this. She imagines that this is what they sounded like when they started out in DC all those years ago.

Josh and Sam recapped their night for her, pausing to laugh at each other several times throughout the story. The three friends joked and laughed over the phone for almost an hour before they all finally called it a night.

*

“Don’t freak out.”

“Why am I not freaking out?”

“Just promise me you won’t.”

“Fine.”

“They added an extra event for this morning.”

“You’re not even on the plane yet?!”

“No.”

“Donna.”

“Josh.”

Josh sighed as he leaned back in his desk chair.

“When are you coming home?”

“Wheels down is 7pm your time.”

“ _Donna_.”

“It’s only a few more hours.”

“I know.”

Donna looked around and saw the First Lady about to step into the motorcade.

“I gotta go. I’ll be home by 8, see you then.”

“Have a good flight.”

With that, the other end of the line was dead.

Josh ran his hands over his face before he got up and started walking towards the bullpen. He reached his old stomping grounds and leaned against the open doorway that led to what was now Sam’s office.

“Hey,” Sam asked as he looked up from the memo he was writing, “what’s up?”

“You can go home,” Josh said with a sigh.

Sam looked confused. “I thought you wanted me to staff the President this afternoon so you could meet Donna’s plane at Andrews.”

“Change of plans,” Josh replied. “They’re not landing until tonight now.”

“Last minute addition to the schedule?”

“Yeah.”

“Sorry man,” Sam said with sincerity.

“Yeah well,” Josh started, “one of us should enjoy this Saturday, and if it can’t be me then it should be you.”

“Are you sure? I can stay and help you out if you want.”

“Nah, I’m good, but thanks.”

Sam smiled slightly at his friend before he began packing his bag.

With that, Josh continued on his walk throughout the West Wing. He rounded through the rest of the bullpen and wandered the halls for a few minutes before ending up at Ronna’s desk.

“Does he have a minute?” he asked.

“Yeah, his next meeting doesn’t start for another ten minutes. I’ll let him know you’re here.”

Josh didn’t like using their connecting door for unimportant things. He felt entering that way heightened the importance of whatever he had to say. Josh only used the door when he needed the President right away, or when it was occasionally left open on late nights long after Ronna and most of the staff had gone home.

Other than that, he usually used the main entrance.

“You can go in,” Ronna said as she held the door open for him.

“Josh!” Santos cheered as he walked through the doorway. “I have a question for you.”

“I’m all ears Mr. President.”

“What do you say about me and you meeting the girls’ plane at Andrews, as a surprise? It’s been a long week and the women would love it. Do you think we can squeeze that into the schedule for today?”

“Well, I have good news and bad news sir,” Josh began tentatively.

“Good news first,” Santos responded.

“The good news is that I absolutely think we can do that. Shouldn’t be a problem, but I’ll double check with the secret service.”

“Excellent!” Santos cheered again. “I knew I hired you for a reason.”

“What that reason is, I can assure you that neither one of us knows.”

“What’s the bad news?”

“They added a last-minute event to the First Lady’s schedule, so her wheels down time has been pushed back a few hours.”

Santos’s face fell. “I suppose that’s why we’re able to meet the plane? No meetings to reschedule in the middle of the night?”

“Your last meeting ends at 6:30, and the plane lands at 7,” Josh agreed.

“I know you’re just the messenger, but I really want to hate you right now.”

“Want to?”

“Want to, but I can’t. Probably because I know this sucks for you almost as much as it sucks for me.”

“Well, you’ll be comforted to know that this does indeed, really suck for me.”

“Excellent.”

Josh laughed.

“So, you wanna tell me what we’re going to be doing all day, other than waiting for our women to return to us?”

“Gladly, sir.”

*

It was 6:58pm DC time. The plane had begun its initial descent, and they would be landing any minute now.

“God, I can’t wait to be home,” the First Lady said to Donna and Annabeth. “I miss my kids.”

“I miss my apartment,” Annabeth responded.

“I miss my bed,” Donna added.

“I miss my bed and my husband,” Helen mused. “I miss my husband in my bed.”

The three women giggled at that.

“We don’t go on another trip for a while, right?” Helen asked.

“We have a day trip in a few weeks, there and back by sundown. After that, we have an overnight trip next month, but the kids, the President, and his staff will be coming with us for that. Our next multiple night trip isn’t until October I believe,” Donna recited from memory.

“I hate being away from DC for so long,” said Helen. “I wasn’t sure if I was ever going to start thinking of this place as home, but I do miss it when we go away.”

“I know the feeling,” Donna replied, “but absence makes the heart grow fonder.”

“Does it work that way on Josh’s heart?” Annabeth giggled. “I heard he looked miserable all week, except for the night he went out with Sam.”

“He almost lost it earlier when I told him our arrival was pushed back,” Donna admitted, “but when I get home, I know he’ll be there waiting to welcome me home and show me how much he missed me.”

“Welcome you home,” Helen smirked, “like in a sweet way or a sex way?”

“Ma’am!” Donna replied. Helen’s smile only grew bigger, so Donna went with it. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

Helen’s eyes lit up, but before she could reply, Annabeth cut in.

“Well, it looks like you might get to find out,” she said as she looked out the window. “The President’s motorcade is on the tarmac!”

Donna and Helen peered out the window, and sure enough Matt and Josh were propped up leaning against the side of the President’s limo. They looked every bit the part of the two most powerful men in the world, what with their suits and sunglasses and matching positions of leaning against the car with their hands casually in their pockets.

“God, I love that man,” Helen mumbled to Donna. Clearly, she didn’t know about their welcoming committee either.

“My thoughts exactly,” Donna replied as her smile started to match her boss’s.

The plane touched down and rolled to a stop a few moments later. The three women gathered their things and made their way to the exit.

When Donna finally emerged from the plane after Annabeth and Mrs. Santos, Josh couldn’t possibly contain the grin that spread across his face. He was extremely grateful that the President was already eagerly shuffling his wife into the car, and not focusing on him anymore. This way, he could greet his woman the way he wanted to.

Donna’s feet had barely hit the tarmac before Josh grabbed her by the waist and spun her around once.

“Josh!” Donna scolded through a fit of giggles. “We’re _working_ , our bosses are literally right there.”

“They’re not paying attention to us,” Josh replied before leaning in and kissing his girlfriend. He had waited too many damn days to kiss her to possibly wait another second. Donna didn’t seem to mind.

They broke apart a moment later and stood there smiling at each other.

“You two are too sweet,” Annabeth commented as she strode past them towards the car waiting for her. “I could sit here and watch you all night.”

“Goodnight Annabeth,” Josh said to her without breaking eye contact with Donna. Donna started to giggle again.

“Goodnight Annabeth,” Donna copied as she let Josh spin her around and lead her to their own car with his hand on her lower back.

The pair started to walk to Josh’s detail’s car when the window to the backseat of the limo rolled down. The President’s head popped out.

“Hey, Josh!” the President called after them.

“Yes Mr. President,” Josh called back as his hand dropped from Donna’s back.

“I better not see you in the office until Monday,” the President said with a smile.

“Wouldn’t dream of it, sir,” Josh replied as he heard the First Lady yell ‘Same for you Donna!’ from the motorcade. He wrapped his arm around his woman and the pair found their way to the backseat of the suburban that took them to their apartment. They stopped for takeout on the way home and spent the entire next day in bed.


	9. Sunshine & Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josh and Sam get out of DC for a little while to visit an old friend. The three friends catch up and reveal old and new additions to their lives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was not at all how I expected this chapter to turn out, but here we are. I find myself saying that about most things I write these days, but I always end up liking the outcomes.
> 
> Shoutout to jessbakescakes for always being my sounding board, and constantly encouraging me to continue.

“Don’t say it.”

“I was just going to say that-”

“Sam, I know what you’re gonna say. Don’t. Say it.”

“Josh, I don’t understand why-”

“Sam!”

The two men looked up at each other. Josh stared him down until Sam eventually dropped it and went back to reading his briefing memo.

Josh stared back at his own memo. It had been sitting in his hands, open and unread, since they got on the train almost three hours ago. Granted, it was on the longer side, but usually he would’ve been through something that size in an hour. His mind was temporarily focused on other things.

He leaned his head back and let out a deep breath.

“Okay,” he shut the folder in his lap, “I’m ignoring that for the weekend.”

“Oh, thank god,” Sam groaned from the seat across from him as he shut his own folder. “Your leg’s been going a mile a minute since we sat down.”

Josh stopped bouncing his leg. He stared out the window at the approaching city. They’d be reaching their destination shortly.

“Are you nervous-”

“What?” Josh said defensively.

“-about seeing Toby?”

“Oh,” Josh relaxed a bit, “no, why would I be nervous about that?”

“Maybe because you haven’t seen him since before the incident.” Sam couldn’t help but notice Josh’s leg start to bounce again subconsciously.

“Yeah, but I talk to him like once a week.”

“It’s not the same.”

“Are you nervous?”

“No,” Sam stated as he reached out and stilled Josh’s leg, “but I’m not the one who’s radiating peak levels of anxiety.”

Josh returned his gaze back to the city skyline.

Sam leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

The pair sat quiet for a few minutes before Josh couldn’t take the silence anymore.

“Okay,” he blurted out, “I have to tell you something.”

“Aha,” Sam mused, eyes still closed, “you may be the master of the political stare down, but I know you too well, old buddy, old pal of mine. The silent treatment works every time.”

“Sam.” Josh was growing impatient

“Okay, I’m listening” Sam opened his eyes again and couldn’t read Josh’s face. Whatever it was trying to express, it definitely didn’t seem pleasant. “Oh God, what did you do.”

“Me?! I didn’t do anything!”

“What did the President do?”

“What? Sam, he didn’t do anything either.”

“Josh, either you did something, or he did something. I can see it in your eyes.”

“We didn’t do anything!” Josh’s voice rose two octaves and then came back down. “I didn’t do anything…”

Sam blinked.

“…yet.”

“Josh-” Sam tried to start before Josh cut him off.

“Sam!” he shouted as he looked his best friend dead in the eye. “Will you let me talk?”

“Fine,” Sam crossed his arms over his chest and put on his best serious face. He could only imagine what Josh was about to get himself into this time.

Josh ran his hand through his hair, twice. He loosened his tie a little and rolled up his sleeves. Clearly, the man was uncomfortable.

“Oh, for god’s sake Josh-”

“IthinkI’mgonnaaskdonnatomarryme.”

Sam blinked. “Come again?”

Josh took a deep breath and ran his hand through his hair one more time.

“I think I’m going to ask Donna to marry me,” he said again, slower this time.

Sam just stared at his best friend. He couldn’t comprehend what Josh was saying. Josh was getting _married_? Josh could barely call a woman his girlfriend, let alone his fiancée or his wife. The Josh that sat in front of him was the same Josh that spent more nights sleeping face down on his desk than he ever did with one woman. It made no sense to Sam. Josh was getting married before _he_ was? He could have sworn that the world had been turned upside down or that hell had frozen over, because no one in DC saw that one coming.

Except for the fact that everyone saw it coming because of one very specific reason.

It was Donna.

It was _Josh and Donna_ ; all previous assumptions go out the window when it comes to them.

Suddenly Sam could see it, clear as day.

Suddenly, they were sitting on a Bartlet for American campaign bus just outside of Nashua and he was listening to Josh ramble on about whatever Donna related thing he was fascinated with that day.

He was watching the two of them orbit each other in the operations bullpen, never stopping their movements or their conversation.

He was sitting in the GW emergency room holding Donna’s hand. He sat with her for the longest night of their lives.

He was dialing Josh’s cell phone after seeing the explosion on tv and getting voicemail because Josh was in a plane halfway over the Atlantic.

He was watching the two of them smile and clap together for Matthew Santos as he was sworn in as President.

He was watching them laugh and dance together for hours at the Bartlet’s farm that spring.

He watched his best friends fall in love, and it all made perfect sense.

“This is incredible,” Sam finally said.

Josh’s eyebrows shot up.

“This is incredible!” Sam repeated with more enthusiasm as a wide smile formed on his face.

“Yeah?” Josh asked.

“Yeah,” Sam replied earnestly. “How long have you been keeping this from me?”

“I’ve been thinking about it for a little while now,” Josh admitted, “but it wasn’t until this morning that I finally decided I should do it.”

“This morning?” Sam asked.

“Yeah.”

“What happened this morning?”

“Absolutely nothing,” Josh answered. “You were there last night; you know how late it was when we left the office. Donna was already asleep when I got home, and thirty seconds later I was out cold right beside her.”

Sam nodded along, unsure of where this was going.

“I woke up this morning, turned off my alarm, and walked out to the kitchen. There she was, sitting at my kitchen table, wearing my clothes, reading my newspaper, and drinking my coffee.” Josh felt the smile creeping up as he remembered the visual from a few hours ago. “I sat down, she handed me half the newspaper and the rest of the coffee, and I had a thought.”

“You had a thought,” Sam repeated.

“I had a thought.”

Josh paused, trying to find the words to convey exactly what he felt that morning.

Sam sat patiently, knowing that this wasn’t easy for his friend to talk about.

“I thought…” Josh trailed off as he stared at his shoes. “I thought that if I could just wake up to that – to her – every day for the rest of my life…”

Josh’s cheeks turned the slightest shade of red, and Sam let the words hang in the air between them for a moment longer. Then, he opened a notebook and started scribbling furiously.

“What are you doing?” Josh asked.

“Writing down what you just said.”

“Why?”

“So we can use it in your vows. Or so I can use it in my best man speech.”

Sam snapped his head up suddenly.

“I am going to be your best man, right?”

“Sam, let’s just work on getting her to say yes first.”

The train rolled to a stop, and the two men looked at each other as the other passengers began to collect their things and depart. As the pair stood up, Sam wrapped Josh in a bear hug and clapped him on the back. Josh, for once, didn’t protest.

*

Toby heard the familiar wrapping of knuckles sound fill his quiet apartment. He put down the papers he was grading and took off his glasses before crossing the room to his apartment door.

“Good evening sir,” a man dressed in jeans and an NYU hoodie greeted him. It took Toby half a second to spot the clear plastic earpiece running down the back of the guy’s neck. He stood aside and let the man enter his apartment.

Standing behind the man in the NYU hoodie were the two men Toby was actually expecting. Sam had a huge grin plastered on his face, and Josh looked slightly embarrassed.

“I’m surprised they let you come here with only one agent,” Toby mused.

“Two, actually,” Josh winced, “the other one is downstairs by the front door.”

Toby nodded. He was very familiar with the workings of the secret service, even if his days didn’t involve them anymore.

“Thank you, sir,” the agent said to Toby as he took his place just outside the apartment door.

“Anytime,” Toby replied sarcastically.

“Storm and Duke are in for the night,” the agent spoke into his wrist piece as Toby closed the door behind Josh and Sam.

They dropped their bags in the entry way before they each took a turn giving Toby a brief hug. It had been too long since the trio last saw each other for Toby to argue against it.

“Storm?” Toby asked with the hint of a laugh in his voice.

“Sounds less stupid when Donna’s with me,” Josh grumbled as he and Sam picked up their bags and followed Toby to the guest room.

“Why? What’s her code name?”

“Sunshine,” Sam said with a smile. He thought it was a very fitting code name for his friend.

“Storm and sunshine,” Toby mused as they climbed the stairs to the second floor.

“And they try to tell me Ron Butterfield doesn’t have a sense of humor,” Josh added.

“Sunshine and storm,” Toby tried again in reverse order. “It has a decent ring to it.”

“Speaking of rings,” Sam mumbled under his breath.

“Shut up, Sam,” Josh mumbled back.

Toby couldn’t help but smirk as he rolled his eyes. He missed his idiotic friends.

“You guys are in here,” he said as he opened the door to the second bedroom in the apartment.

The room had two twin beds on opposite sides, one with an ‘H’ and one with an ‘M’ painted on the wall by the headboards. There was a basket filled with toys in one corner of the room and an extensive bookshelf in the other.

The walls held a few framed writings, mostly children’s poems or prayers, and a few pictures as well, including one of Toby and his kids at a Yankees game. Surrounding the few framed pieces, the walls were lined with drawings and letters, all signed by one or both of the Ziegler twins.

“Sorry, there’s only one room,” Toby started, “but the couch in the living room pulls out if you two don’t want to share.”

“This is fine,” Josh waved him off as he dropped his backpack on one of the beds.

“This is more than fine,” Sam continued with a soft grin, “thanks for inviting us.”

“Yeah, what he said,” Josh agreed as he studied one of the letters on the wall. “Did Molly write this?”

“Yeah,” Toby said with a soft smile.

“How old are the twins now?” Sam asked as he wandered over to see what Josh was looking at.

“They’re four.”

“They know how to write at four?” Josh asked.

“No,” Toby admitted, “Huck can’t even really hold a crayon right yet, but Molly can write almost all the letters of the alphabet. She knows how to spell her name and his, and she’s trying to teach him all the time. Huck, being the man that he is, is not having any of it.”

Josh and Sam laughed at that one.

“Molly likes writing me letters, but Andy has to tell her how to spell all the words. Takes her about a week to write half a page in giant kid letters.”

“Can’t rush these things,” Sam smirks.

“That’s what I tell her,” Toby smirks back. “Huck is more of an abstract artist.”

The three men smile as they glance around at the rainbow-colored blobs and swirls on papers all around the room. Toby was obviously proud of his children and their creativity; anyone who walked in the room could see that.

“Do you see them often?” Sam asked.

“Not as often as I’d like, but as often as I can,” Toby answered honestly. “I take the train to Maryland most weekends after my Friday morning classes. On the others, Andy brings them up here. I think they’re finally starting to like the city.”

“Speaking of Andy,” Josh raised his eyebrows, “I heard a rumor going around the district.”

“Oh?” Toby pretended to be surprised. Josh wasn’t buying it.

“What rumor?” Sam asked earnestly. Sometimes it was comical how removed from the beltway gossip Sam was. Then again, he didn’t have his own personal encyclopedia named ‘Donna’ at home.

Josh looked at Toby. Toby looked back. The corners of his mouth tugged upwards just slightly, and Josh knew he had him.

“Rumor has it that some lobbyist asked her out two weeks ago, and she said no. Allegedly, she told him she couldn’t go out with him because she was already seeing somebody.” Josh had that wicked grin he saved only for big political take downs. “Any idea who?”

“No idea what you’re talking about,” Toby said through a slight smirk before he turned and left the bedroom.

Josh laughed as he followed him out.

It took Sam another second before he caught up (mentally and physically) to the other two.

“Point for Team Toby!” he shouted down the stairs.

*

“They’re going all the way this year.”

“No, they’re not.”

“We’ve got Jeter, Clemens-” Toby started counting on his fingers

“They’re gonna lose to the Indians in the first round.”

“-Rodriguez-”

“And if they somehow make it past Cleveland, there’s no way they make it past Boston.” Josh argued.

“What makes you think Boston will beat LA in the divisional?” Sam asked.

“Because the Red Sox can take the Angels any day of the week,” Josh argued.

“-Damon-”

“Yeah, that’s probably true,” Sam took another sip of his beer.

“That’s who’s gonan go all the way, the Red Sox.”

“-Rivera-”

“You think they’ll beat the Yankees?”

“I don’t even think they’ll play the Yankees, but if they do, they can totally take them.”

“-Matsui-”

“Who do you think they’d play in the World Series games?” Sam asked.

“The Red Sox?”

“Yeah.”

“-and Giambi.”

“Probably the Diamondbacks,” Josh mused.

“It’s not going to be the Diamondbacks,” Toby interjected with the first statement in five minutes that wasn’t a name on the New York roster.

“You don’t think so?” Sam asked

“It’ll be the Rockies”

“The Rockies? Are you out of your mind?” Josh argued.

“Yankees and Rockies, 2007 World Series.”

“It’s not gonna be the Yankees!” Josh practically screamed. “My Red Sox are gonna wipe the floor with your Yankees if they even make it to the ALCS!”

“ _Your_ Red Sox?” Sam raised an eyebrow.

“Yes!”

“What happened to the Mets?”

“I’m not talking to the Mets right now,” Josh grumbled.

“Why?”

“They need to stop missing the playoffs every year by one damn game.”

“So, in the meantime you’re a Boston fan?” Toby asked.

“Damn right,” Josh took another sip of his beer. “Go Sox.”

Sam laughed and Toby rolled his eyes.

“Watch this,” Toby pointed to the baseball game currently on the tv in front of them. The three men were lounging on the couches in Toby’s living room watching the Yankees try to come back from behind the Indians. “They’re bringing in a ringer.”

“A _ring_ er,” Sam glanced at Josh over his bottle.

“Sam,” Josh warned.

Toby looked back and forth between his friends.

“Josh,” he started slowly, “is Sam going to propose to yet another girl he has no future with?”

“Toby!” Sam argued.

“No,” Josh laughed. “Sam isn’t even seeing anybody.”

Sam was silent for just a minute too long.

“Oh, I don’t know about that one,” Toby mused. He could still read his former deputy like a book.

Josh stared at Sam. Sam stared back.

“Okay,” he finally broke, “there may or may not be a certain woman in my life that I’ve been on a few dates with.”

“Wanna share with the class?”

“I meant to tell you earlier, I really did.”

“Sam,” Josh was on high alert. “If you’re seeing another call girl-”

“God, Josh, no,” Sam laughed nervously. “It’s nothing like that.”

“Then who is she?”

“You know her.”

“Sam.”

“Actually, you both know her.”

“Sam,” Toby interjected, “get to the point.”

“Fine,” Sam sighed. He took a deep breath. “It’s Ainsley Hayes.”

Josh blinked. Toby laughed.

“White House Counsel, Ainsley Hayes?”

“Do you know another Ainsley? Yes, White House Counsel, Ainsley Hayes.”

Josh blinked again. Toby laughed again.

“What’s so funny?” Sam asked dejected.

“Nothing,” Toby waved him off, “I just can’t believe you were going to propose to Ainsley Hayes without telling anyone you were seeing her.”

Josh’s eyes went wide as he stared at Sam.

“Okay, woah woah woah,” Sam jumped off the couch and held his hands up defensively. “I’m not going to propose to her. I took her to dinner twice, and we sometimes have breakfast together in her office.”

Josh looked on dumbfounded.

“It’s fun and it’s simple and it’s new,” Sam continued, “I’m enjoying it, but God, Toby, I’m not _proposing_. I’m not crazy.”

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me this,” Josh finally found his voice.

“I honestly wasn’t sure how you’d react.”

“How I’d react?”

“To me dating a Republican.”

“She’s working in a Democratic White House, again, she can’t be that bad.”

“And there’s that too.”

“What?”

“She works for us.”

“She works _with_ you Sam; she works _for_ the President.”

“So, you don’t have any objections to me dating a Republican I work with?”

“I mean, as your boss, you should probably talk to HR, I’m sure there’s some sort of paperwork to be filled out for this kind of situation. As your friend, no I don’t have any objections.”

Sam blinked.

“You seem happy,” Josh shrugged. “You should get to be happy.”

Sam smiled at his friend. Toby rolled his eyes at the sentimentality.

Josh knew that Sam had a rough summer trying to get over his ex-fiancée. She left him in DC and moved back to California in May, and the dog days of summer were starting to wear him down. Josh and Donna took turns trying to cheer up their best friend and get him out of the house, but it was only a temporary solution. Eventually, Sam’s mood started to change, and Josh just assumed he had gotten over the hump.

“Oh,” Sam continued, “and it wasn’t like I didn’t tell _anyone_. Donna knew.

“Donna knew?” Josh’s eyebrows shot up.

“Yeah, I told her at lunch a few weeks ago.”

“Since when do you and Donna get lunch?”

“We get lunch on Wednesdays, when you have your NSC briefings,” Sam shrugged.

Josh pondered this for half a second.

“Ah-kay.”

Sam sat back down, and the pair resumed their leisurely positions of watching the baseball game.

“Wait a minute,” Toby said suddenly. “I don’t understand. If you’re not proposing, then why have you been making ring jokes since you got here.”

Josh froze, beer bottle midway to his mouth. Sam shot him a wicked grin.

“Oh my God,” Toby was piecing it together. “Oh. My. God.”

Josh slowly put his drink down on the coffee table and looked at Toby.

“You’re not proposing,” Toby said while pointing at Sam. He swung his arm around to point at Josh. “ _You’re_ proposing.”

“Toby-”

“To Donna?!”

“Don’t make this a big deal-” Josh stood up slowly.

“It is a big deal!” Toby shouted as he sprung to his feet. “After all this time… you’re finally gonna marry that girl?”

Josh swallowed and took a deep breath. Toby couldn’t remember ever seeing him quite this nervous about anything.

“Yeah.”

Toby blinked.

“Bad idea?” Josh asked with an uncertainty to his voice.

“No, Josh,” Toby relaxed. “It just may be the only _good_ idea you’ve ever had.”

Josh let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

“I take it you knew about this?” Toby asked.

Sam couldn’t help the massive smile spread across his face. “He told me earlier. Isn’t it incredible?”

“Our little boy is growing up,” Toby joked.

“Okay, you know what-” Josh started.

Before he could get very far, Toby hugged him.

“Mazeltov,” he said as Josh stood frozen in shock over the sudden display of affection from his friend. Toby patted him on the back, and Josh regained his ability to speak.

“Thanks, Toby.”

The three men sat down, once again returning to their leisurely baseball watching positions, but this time not a single one of them were thinking about the game.

“Look at us,” Sam finally broke the silence after a few minutes. “The three of us, back together again, talking about our women like the good old days.”

“The good old days?” Josh asked,

“What women did we ever talk about?” Toby asked.

“Okay,” Sam conceded, “maybe we never talked about our women.”

“That’s because we didn’t have women,” Toby pointed out.

“Maybe you two didn’t have women, but I had-”

“You had who? Donna?” Toby finished the sentence for Josh. “Doesn’t count when you’re actively dating anyone but each other.”

Sam laughed, and Josh rolled his eyes. The trio continued to tease each other well into the night while they watched the Yankees lose to the Indians.

*

“Are you guys sure about this?”

“Yes.”

“Would you just trust us?”

“Oh, okay,” Josh started, “sorry I’m a little nervous about trusting _you_ , the guy who’s one for two from the free throw line with the same woman, and _you_ , the guy who’s batting a thousand when it comes to proposals but can’t seem to ever win the game.”

Toby and Sam were unamused by his sports analogies.

“Josh,” Sam reasoned with him, “we should do this now. When are you going to have time to go ring shopping when we get back to DC?”

“Not to mention, even if you had time – which you don’t – what would you say to Donna when she asks where you’re going?” Toby asked.

“I’d lie.”

Sam actually laughed at that one. “She always knows when you’re lying.”

“Besides,” Toby continued, “you can’t be trusted to pick one of these out on your own.”

“Toby, I’m picking out a ring from a store, not crafting it myself. I think I’ll be fine.”

“See that, right there, that’s why you can’t do this alone,” Sam argued.

“It’s not just any ring, it’s an engagement ring,” Toby added. “The one your woman will wear every day for the rest of her life. Do you really want to take a chance on screwing that up and picking out something bad?”

Josh thought for a minute. “No.”

“Exactly,” Sam concluded as he clapped his friend on the back. “Do you know her ring size?”

“That one I do know,” Josh said in a more chipper tone. “My mother found out her ring size six months ago – how, or why, remains a mystery – but she never fails to mention it to me every time I call her.”

“And you know what the plan is?” Sam asked

“Run it by me one more time.”

“After breakfast, the three of us go to a couple jewelers and look at some rings. We eventually find the one, and we give the guy the size we want it in.”

“Then,” Toby jumped in, “the guy will call me in a couple days when it’s ready and I’ll go back and pick it up from the store. I’ll make sure it’s what we ordered, and then I’ll bring it with me when I go see Andy and the kids next weekend.”

“I’ll meet up with Toby at some point during that weekend, and he’ll hand off the ring to me,” Sam continued.

“You should come over for dinner,” Toby suggested. “I’m sure Andy and the kids would love to see you.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, and bring Ainsley. I’m not sure if her and Andy ever got a chance to meet in the Bartlet days. It could be an interesting night.”

“Okay, I’ll extend the invitation,” Sam smiled.

“Uh guys,” Josh interrupted. “We were talking about me here.”

“Right,” Sam continued. “Like I said, I’ll get the ring from Toby and then I’ll hold on to it until you’re ready for it.”

“And why can’t I hold on to it myself?” Josh asked.

“Where would you keep it?” Toby countered.

“Somewhere in the apartment.”

“Donna will find it if you keep it in the apartment,” Toby stated.

“Fine, somewhere in the office.”

“Margaret will find it if you keep it in the office,” Sam stated, “and then everyone in the building will know about it by the next morning.”

“Fine,” Josh gave up and accepted the plan. “I agree with Sam and I agree with Toby, and you know how that makes me crazy.”

*

The three friends spent the rest of the weekend doing as men do. They talked about their jobs and their women, they ate pizza and drank beer, and they spent two whole days enjoying each other’s company. They did manage to slip out and do some ring shopping on Saturday morning, and after three stores and only one mild melt down from Josh, they finally found the one.

Toby was sad to see his friends go on Sunday afternoon, but Sam and Josh made a pact to visit again whenever they could escape the White House for more than a day at a time. Toby agreed to call them more on the weekends when he was only a cab ride away.

Toby spent his Sunday night grading papers for his Monday morning class. He was excited to tell his students that the Deputy Chief of Staff agreed to come guest lecture next month. They were all sure to freak out when they found out that their professor was so well connected with Washington’s new most eligible bachelor. Surprisingly, Josh didn’t seem to mind too much when that title got passed to Sam at the beginning of the Santos administration. Toby thought it was just another sign that the boy was finally growing up.

As for Josh and Sam, they spent their Sunday evening on a train back to DC. They were both back to reading briefing books in comfortable silence for most of their journey. This time Josh was actually able to read his, pushing the thoughts of the proposal to the back of his mind for the time being. He still wasn’t exactly sure how or when he was going to pop the question, but at least now he had people to run his ideas by.

Sam kept discretely looking at Josh over the top of the folder in his hands.

Josh noticed.

“Don’t say it.”

“I was just going to say that-”

“Sam, I know what you’re gonna say. Don’t. Say it.”

“Josh, I don’t understand why-”

“Sam!”

“Josh!”

Josh ran a hand over his face. Clearly, he wasn’t going to win this time, as he was too tired to put up much of a fight.

“I was just going to say,” Sam started, “that it was nice to have a weekend away for once that wasn’t interrupted by emergent calls or a summons to the White House.”

Josh sighed.

In under ten minutes, both their cell phones and pagers started going off.

“You just _had_ to say it,” Josh said while shaking his head.

“Oh, shut up,” Sam threw back while hastily writing down whatever was being said through the cell phone pressed to his ear.

Josh smirked at that, and Sam managed to grin too.

Josh’s phone went off again and he looked down at the screen to see an incoming call from Donna.

“Hey,” he greeted her as he answered the phone.

“Hey,” she replied on the other end, “the First Lady just called me back into the office, so I can’t pick you guys up from the train station.”

“That’s okay,” Josh started before Donna kept going.

“I’m not sure what it is, but I got calls from both Annabeth and Lou in the past five minutes so it must be big. I’m assuming you guys got the calls too?”

“Yeah, Sam’s talking to Lou right now and I’m about to call the President.”

“I figured. I had the agents send a car to pick you guys up at the station, and I’m grabbing coffee for my team on my way in. You guys want anything?”

Josh nudged Sam’s leg and made a drinking motion while pointing at the phone.

Sam nodded and mouthed a ‘thank you’.

“Yeah, can you get us-”

“Hot coffee with cream and three sugars for you, and an iced coffee with almond milk for Sam. I’ll meet you at the office.”

Josh smiled to himself and murmured a quick ‘love you’ before hanging up. Sam ended his call at the same time.

“The First Lady’s staff was called in too, Donna’s grabbing coffee on the way.”

“That woman is a godsend,” Sam mused as he dialed another number on his phone.

“Don’t I know it,” Josh agreed as he waited for his next call to be placed through to the oval.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first scene of this chapter was one of my favorites to write, and the rest was just guys being dudes. I bet you can all tell where this story is headed, but I can say for certain that there will be at least 1-2 more chapters before the big moment. Side note: can you tell what my favorite baseball team is after reading that?
> 
> As always, comments fuel my ego.
> 
> If you want to chat about this or really anything tww related, you can find me on tumblr at sam-loves-seb

**Author's Note:**

> As always, comments fuel my ego.
> 
> If you want to chat you can find me on tumblr at sam-loves-seb


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